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PLAN OF A B I N G T N( ., 







TT^aSrji o-/ r,tj, 



OELEBRATIOInT 



m funbrti) u)s iiUui\ gnnibtrjiirjt 



INCORPORATION OP ABINGTON, 



MASSACHUSETTS, 



June 10, 1862; 



INCLUDING THE 



ORATION, rOEM, AND OTHER EXERCISES. 




BOSTON: 

WRIGHT & POTTER, PRINTERS, 4 SPRING LANE. 

18 6 2. 



B'^ 



r74 



Abington, June 11, 18G2. 

Kev. E. PoKTER Dyer : — 

Dear Sir, — At a meeting of the Committee of Arrangements, lieUl this 
day, it was voted, unanimously, "That the thanks of the Committee be 
presented to Rev. E. P. Dyer for the able and pleasing Address delivered 
by him on the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation 
of the Town of Abington, and that a copy of the same be requested for 
publication." In the hope that you will find it convenient to comply with 
the above request, 

I remain, your obedient servant, 

ISAAC HERSEY, Secretary. 



lIiNGHAM, June 13, 18G2. 
Isaac Hersey, Esq. : — 

Dear Sir, — The Address of which you are pleased to request a copy for 
the press, was imperfectly prepared amid the pressure of other labors, and, 
as you know, at brief notice. I would it were worthy the thanks you are 
pleased to express, and worthier the perusal of those who may hereafter 
interest themselves in the history of my native town. Such as it is, with 
all its imperfections, I submit it to you for publication as you request, in 
the humble hope that its historical facts, gathered from various sources, 
may be of some future interest to the citizens of Abington. 

Resxiectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. PORTER DYER. 



oo:n^te:^ts. 



IXTRODtCTOKl, 

Officers axd Committees, 
Order of Processiox, .... 
Introductory Address, by IIox. Levi Eeed, 
Hymn of "Welcome, by Eev. H. D. Walker, 
Hymn, by Mrs. E. L. Cdmmings, of Medfoed, 
Oration, by Rev. E. Porter Dyer, of IIingiiam, . 
Address of Welcome, by Hon. Levi Reed, 
Remarks by His Excellency Governor Andrew, . 
Poem, by James Wilson Ward, Jr. Esq., of Guilford, 
Remarks by Hon. Benjamin Hobart, 

BY Rev. F. R. Abbe, 

Hymn, by Rev. H. D. Walker, 

Remarks by Rev. H. D. Walker, .... 
BY Charles F. Dunbar, Esq., of Boston, 
by Rev. Isaac C. White, of Plymouth, . 
BY Rev. E. Porter Dver, of Hingham, . 
BY William D. Coolidge, Esq., of Newton, 
BY Rev. Joseph Crehore, .... 
BY Rev. Henrv L. Edwards, 
BY B. F. Peterson, Esq., .... 



Conn. 



Page. 

7 

8 
11 
14 
16 
18 
19 
46 
47 
54 
64 
67 
70 
71 
74 
77 
79 
83 
8."i 
88 
02 



CONTENTS. 



VuLiNTEER Sentiments, ....... 

Letter rRo.M Setii IIobart White, Esy., of DEf.iii. N. Y., 
iROM Uev. Joseph Tettee, ..... 
FROM Er.MS Ames, Esq., or Cantox, 
iROM Kev. Jacoh White, of West IJiiincEWATER, 



Page. 
94 

9.3 

97 

99 

99 



A]']'KXI)IX, 



101 



A B I N G T O N 
SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 



In the warrant for a Town Meeting, to be held at 
the Town Hall in Abington, on the 28tli of April, 
1862, the following article was inserted, aIz. : — 

" To see if the Town Avill take measures to celel)rate tlie One 
Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Ineorporation of the 
Town of Abington." 

At the meeting thns called, the following resolves 
were offered by Hon. Levi Reed, and adopted : — 

^^ Resolved, That as tlie one hun(h'ed and fiftieth anniversary of tlie 
incorporation of this town occurs on tlie tenth day of June next, it is 
expected that the occasion he noticed by a public celebration which 
shall connneniorate- an event so important in our history. 

^^ Resolved, That the Selectmen, with nine others, to be nominated 
by them, be a committee to make all necessary arrangements feu* 
such a celebration, with full power to procure an Orator and Music ; 
and to make such provisions for the accommodation of the public as 
they shall judge best." 

In accordance with the foregoing resolves, the fol- 
lowing named persons were chosen to act with the 
Selectmen : — 



8 ABTNGTON SEMT-CENTEXNTAL flELEl'.IlATION. 

Levi Itcccl, Isaac llcrscy, Xahiim llccd, Abncr 
Curtis, John N. Noyes, James Ford, Sumner Shaw, 
Meritt Nash, and I. J. Ilowland.* 

'ilie Conmiittcc of Arrangements held then* ftrst 
mc<3thi,i; A])ril 'JOth, and organized by tlie clioice of 
llou. ]iKVi Heed as (']iairiii:ni, ;md Isaac Hersey, Esq., 
as Secretary. 

It was decided to ha^ e the celebration at " Island 
( J rove," and a committee, consisting of S. B. Thaxter, 
John X. Noyes and Meritt Nasli, Mas chosen to make 
all necessary arrangements with ^lessrs. Ilced and 
Noyes respectmg the Grove. 

Kev. E. Porter Dver, of Ilmgham, a native of the 
towu, was inxited to deliver the Oration, and James 
^\'ll,s()^■ Ward, Jr., Esq., of (jiuilford, Conn., also a 
native of the toMii, was mvited to deliver a Poem. 

An invitation to be present on the occasion ^vas 
extended to His Excellency Governor Axdrew, together 
with his Staif and the Executive Council. 

The following were chosen officers of the day : — 

PRESIDENT. 

LEVI REED. 

VICE-PIIESIDENTS. 

ISAAC HERSEY. MARCUS REED. 

BENJAMIN HOBART. JOSEPH HUNT. 

JAMES FORD. ZENAS JENKINS. 

JOSIAII SHAW. JENKINS LANE. 

ASAril DUNBAR. JARED WHITMAN. 

* Subsequently, at a meeting of the "Committee of Arrangements," 
Mr. Ilowland declined serving, and Mr. S. N. Cox was chosen to fill the 
vacancy. 



INTRODUCTORY PROCEEDINGS. 

TREASURER. 

SAMUEL B. THAXTER. 

CHIEF MARSHAL. 

SAMUEL B. THAXTER. 

ASSISTANT MARSHALS. 

JASON HEKSEY. JONATHAN ARNOLD, Jr. 

DANIEL GLOYD. JOSHUA CURTIS, Jr. 

CHARLES BEARCE. SAMUEL H. McIvENNEY. 

HORACE REED. JOSIAH SOULE. 

GRIDLEY T. NASH. WILLIAM POOL. 

LEANDER CURTIS. CHARLES W. HOWLAND. 

toast-master. 
SAMUEL N. COX. 

committee of finance. 
ZENAS JENKINS. MERITT NASH. 

NAHUM REED. JAMES FORD. 

committee on music. 
NAHUM REED. MERITT NASH. 

ZENAS JENIQNS. 

COM3riTTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE. 

ISAAC HERSEY. JOHN N. NOYES. 

SAMUEL B. THAXTER. 

COMMITTEE TO PRINT THE ORATION, POEM, AND PROCEEDINGS. 

ISAAC HERSEY. SAMUEL N. COX. 

JOHN N. NOYES, 



10 AinXOTOX SEMI-CENTENNIAL rKLEBRATION. 

The citizens of Abiii<j,'toii iicxcr anoii for themselves 
more credit than on Tuesday, the lOth day of June, 
on the occasion of the celebration of the one hundred 
and fiftieth anniversary of tlie incorporation of the 
town. The day "was all that one could wish, hrig-ht, 
cool and airy ; and was just one of those days when 
every thing looks pleasant and lovely. The Natal 
Day was announced by the rmging of all the bells in 
t()\Mi. At an early hour the people were alive to the 
recpiirements of the occasion, and began their prepara- 
tions for the public exercises of the day. Many of the 
sons and daughters of old Abington from far and near 
were at home to share in the festivities of the day. and 
worthily to remember their ntof/icr town. The citizens 
of the town, forgetting their usual a^■ocations, turned 
out en masse to honor the day ; and large delegations 
from the neighbormg towns were present to participate 
in the exercises of the occasion. 

At half-past nine, A. M., on the arrival of the morn- 
ing train from Boston, the escort, consisting of the 
South Abmgton Infantry, (Co. E, Fourth Regiment 
M. V. M.,) accompanied by the South Abmgton Band, 
received His Excellency (xovernor .\ndrew, the mem- 
bers of the Executive Council, the invited guests, and 
the Committee of Arrangements, at the depot at the 
Centre, and proceeded at once to " llatherly Hall," 
w^here, after waiting a few minutes, the Procession was 
formed in the foUoM'ina" order : — 



THE PROCESSION. 11 

Chief Miirshal and Aids. 

Music. 

Military Escort. 

Aid. President of the Day and His Excellency Governor Andrew. Aid. 

The Executive Council. 

Members of the State Departments. 

Aid. Orator of the Day and Chaplain. Aid. 

Poet of the Day and invited Speakers. 

Aid. Soldiers of 1812. Aid. 

Members of the Legislature. 

Town Officers. 

Invited Guests. 

Vice-Presidents. 

Aid. Committee of Arrangements. Aid. 

Aid. Pilgrim Koyal Arch Chapter. Aid. 

John Cutler Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. 
Aid. Organization of Sons of Temperance. Aid. 

School Committee, Teachers, and Children of the Public Schools. 
Aid. Citizens Generally. Aid. 

Aid. Cavalcade. Aid. 



Passing tlirougli Washing-ton Street, Centre Avenue, 
and PhTnontli Street, the Procession proceeded to 
" Island Grove," where the exercises of the day were 
to take place, arriving at precisely the hour (11 o'clock,) 
which had been fixed upon by the Chief Marshal. 



Forming as it did one of the essential features of the 
occasion, the Procession deserves somethmg more than 
a passmg notice. 

The South Abington Band furnished good evidence 
that the reputation of the town for proficiency in music 
would receive no detriment at then' hands. 

The military escort for the occasion, (South Abing- 
ton Infantry,) appearing with full ranks, gained great 
credit by their fine appearance and soldierly bearing, 



12 AIUXOTOX SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEI'.RATIOX, 

and showed that tlicy were proficient in whatever pcr- 
tamcd to their duties as citizen soldiers. 

The veterans of 1812 attracted, as they well 
deser\'ed, considerable attention, 'i'hey had gathered, 
after the lapse of half a ccMitur}'. a goodly number, 
although theh ranks had l)een sadly thinned by time, 
to recall the scenes throuiih wliich they liad passed, 
and by tlieir presence to add to the enjoyment of the 
hour. 

The Masonic Fraternity, numbering some seventy, 
came out m fuU regalia. They were accompanied by 
the Weymouth Band, and formed a very attractive 
pait of the Procession. They carried a beautiful 
banner \\\{h mottoes and devices peculiar to the order. 

The " Sons of Temperance " Avere represented l)y 
delegations from the Aarious Divisions m town. They 
numbered nearly one hundred, and carried the banner 
of " Home " Division, Avitli the motto " IVe Live to 
Conquer." 

The school committee and teachers of the public 
schools had made every exertion to render that mter- 
estmg part of the Procession — the schools — as attrac- 
tive as possible, and their success was eAident from 
the encomiums awarded to it hy observers. 

First came the Centre High School, Mr. L. 1"*. 
Martin, teacher, 50 pupils, Avith a banner adorned with 
a neatly executed lettermg of evergrec^n givmg the 
name of the school, the date of the celebration, and the 
motto. '• Virtus in Act i one." 



THE PROCESSION. 13 

The South Abingtoii High School folloAvecl, with a 
banner inscribed with the name of the school, and the 
motto, '' Fortiter, Fideliter, Feliciter" Mr. D. H. 
Bro^\'n, teacher, 42 pupils. 

Next came the North Abington High School, Mr. 
J. F. Frte, teacher, 70 pupils. On then' barnier was 
the motto, " Siiaviter in modo, Fortiter in re." On the 
reverse was inscribed, " The love of countnj j^revaih,'' 
with the date of the celebration. 

These were followed by the Intermediate Schools as 
follows : — 

Adams Street Intermediate, Miss Maria J. Wales, 
teacher, 50 pupils. Motto, " Workers Toe/ether.'' 

PhTiiouth Street Intermediate, Miss Mary E. Heed, 
teacher, 38 pupils. Motto, " Strive for the Right''' 

Washington Street Intermediate, Miss Elizabeth B. 
Nash, teacher, bQ pupils. Motto, "-Excelsior,'^ with a 
paintmg of the aspirmg standard bearer. 

School Street Intermediate, Miss Ellen Dyer, 
teacher, 1:8 pupils. Motto, " Still Achieving, Still 
Pursuing." 

Hancock Street Intermediate, Miss Abby U. Sewall, 
teacher, 40 puj)ils. Motto, " Onward, Right Onward." 

Ashland Street School, Miss Alice M. Haymond, 
teacher, 20 pupils. Motto, " Much in Little" with 
the date. 

When the Procession reached the field adjoining the 
Grove they were joined by the East Abmgton schools 
as follows : — 



14 AHIXGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CKLKHRATION. 

Tlic Jlij;]! School, Mr. 15. 1^\lleiiton, teacher, 50 
pupils. Motto, " Mens uifitdt iniilrm ;" on the reverse, 
a pamtmg, the rismg sun. 

The three Intermediate Schools — ^Market Street, 
Union Street and A\'ebster Street — came next, with a 
bamicr with the motto, " We are Coming^' folloA\'ed l)y 
K).) pupils. 

The North Union Street Intermediate, Miss Fidelia 
A. Hunt, teacher, Avith 49 pupils, and a banner with 
the motto, " The Future is Otirs,^' In'ought up the rear. 



After music by the South Abington Band, Hon. 
TiEvi Heed, President of the Day, delivered the follow- 
ing Introductory Address : — 

Fellow- Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen: — 

It devolves upon me, on this interesting occasion, to intro- 
duce these exercises by a few remarks in explanation of the 
reasons tluit have called us together. One hundred and fifty 
years ago to-day, on the tenth day of June, 1712, the 
Colonial Governor of Massachusetts, then under British 
control, signed the Act which incorj)oratcd here the town of 
Abington. This event, so important in our local history, it 
is fit — it is eminently })roper, we sliould connncnioratc. 

As individuals we notice our hiiilulays ; annually we 
celebrate the birth of the nation, and is it strange, that 
once or twice in a century we come together to honor the 
memory of our fathers, the first settlers of this then howling 
wilderness ? 

We are, perhaps, sometimes in danger of forgetting, in the 
onwiii'd niiu'ch of events, those liomely virtues of tlio fii-st 



INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS OP THE PRESIDENT. 15 

settlers of New England, that have made this part of the 
country the most thrifty and prosperous of any section of the 
Union. 

Industry, temperance, perseverance, a strict regard for 
truth, a rigid observance of the Sabbath, the establishment 
of free schools, and an unconquerable attachment to the 
principles of civil liberty, are all of them virtues, believed in, 
and practiced by our Mhers, whom we should do well to 
imitate. They came to this country that they might estab- 
lish here institutions of liberty, founded on the principles of 
the Word of God. In their ideas they were far in advance 
of the age in which they lived, and here they laid deep 
and l)road those foundations of a free government, that 
afterwards ripened in full development in the days of the 
Revolution. 

Of the blood of the Puritans this town received its full 
share, and we should remember what . it has done for us, 
who have inherited this treasure. Our ancestors here built 
roads and bridges, and dammed these waters, and made this 
place suitable for the residence of man. Here they lived, 
and loved, and labored. Here they preached and ^)rayed, 
and sang praises to the Most High. Here, with stalwart 
forms and brawny arms, they felled the mighty forests, and 
opened the virgin soil to the influence of the sunlight and 
the rain. We cannot pass unnoticed, on an occasion lil^e 
this, the blessings we have received from them. It is not 
my part to deliver a eulogy : that duty has been put, to-day, 
into other and al)lcr hands. But the bones of my ancestors 
for more than a century lie mouldering in the soil of this 
town, and should I be silent the very dust under my feet 
would cry out against me. When the two hundredth 
anniversary comes round, I shall not be here ; but I charge 



16 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

these cliiklreu belbre me — i charge my own descendants 
who may then he ahve, to remember and lionor the day. 

Siicli arc the men whose worth w(^ this day cehjljrate. 
Such are the men wliu have h;ft us a rich legacy in tlieir 
exam})lc, and have made the nation what it is. 

*' What constitutes a state ? 
Not liigli-raised battlement or hiborfd mound, 

Thick Avail, or moated jrate ; 
Not cities proud. Avitli spires or turrets crowned ; 

Nut bays and broad-armed ports ; 
AVhere, laughing at (lie storm, rieli navies ride ; 

No — men, high-minded men, 

Men, who their duties know. 
But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain ; 

These constitute a state!" 

Such were our fathers, and well will it l)e for their 
descendants to keep their memories green, while time shall 
last, or immortality endure. 



A " H)Tnn of Welcome " furnished for the occasion 
by Rev. H. D. Walker, was then sung by the childi-en 
of the public schools to the tune of " Eed, AVhite and 
Blue." 

Ilail! Aldington's sons and her daughters 

From all tlie new homes you lune tbund ; 
Say, is there a spot in those quarters 

Dearer now than your own native ground ? 
AYhere we of the new genei'ation, 

As Ave come the old days to review. 
And learn to stand true to the Nation, 

Now ring out our welcome to von. 



HYMN OF WELCOME. 1 7 

"Welcome back to the home of" your childhood, 

Ye who've wandered o'er land and o'er sea ; 
To our voice now let meadow and wild wood 

Echo back the loud notes full and free, 
As to God, who can cheer all in sadness, 

To God, who will chase every fear, 
We lift now the song of our gladness 

This Hundred and Fiftieth Year. 

Welcome, all who have staid in your places 

And been true to your holiest trust ; 
Who've taught us to mark well the traces 

Of the Wise, and the Pure, and the Just : 
Oh ! be sure that in gladness we greet you. 

Friends, relatives gathered around, 
Your joy may we be as we meet you 

Through another Half Century's bound. 

Welcome all, of each age and each station, 

And welcome ! our Governor true ! 
Three cheers for the State and the Nation ! 

Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue ! 
Our hearts will in gladness repeat it. 

Our pulses all bounding in glee ; 
With welcome, thrice welcome, we greet it, 

Our Abington's third Jubilee ! 

Prayer was offered by the Chaplain, Rev. Asahel 
Cobb, of New Bedford, a native of the town. 

The following Hymn, contributed by Mrs. E. L. 
CuMMiNGS, of Medford, a native of the town, was then 
sung, to the tune " America " : — 



18 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

(jiod ol' (iLir Iiiiricil sires, 
Guard of thulr altar-fires. 

Guide of their way. 
Our grateful hearts and tongues 
Praise Thee in tliankful songs, 
To whom all praise belongs ! 

Bless us to-day. 

"Wliilc to the golden urn 
Of hist'ry's page we turn, 

Ilcr garnered ston^ 
ShoAvs the brave Pilgrim band 
Sifted from Father-land, 
Wafted by heavenly hand, 

To plant our shore. 

Now o'er our Fathers' dust, 
Fimi in their faith and trust. 

From us arise 
Blessings for Gospel light, 
For Halls of Learning bi'ight. 
For Freedom, Truth and Pight, 

Gifts from the skies. 

Guard Thou our native town ; 
Here shed rich blessings down ; 

'Mid danger's night, 
'Mid war's fierce, fiery breath. 
Shield her young sons from death ; 
Preserve her ancient faith : 

God speed the right. 

At the conclusion of the smging, the President 
introduced Rev. E. Pouter Dyer, of llino-liaiu. as the 
Orator of the Day. 



oration; 



Mr. President, and FeUoiv-Cltizens and Friends: — 

The occasion of our assembliiig, to-day, in this 
beautiful temple of Nature, is one of rare interest. 
We meet to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth 
anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of 
Abington. One hundred and fifty years ! What a 
lengthened period ! The memory of the oldest inhab- 
itant reaches not back so far. Such a Jubilee has 
never occurred here before, and in our day will never 
occur here again. Even the children of to-day, who 
are ready to ask " What mean ye by this service 1 " 

* In the preparation of this Address, the author lias availed himself 
freely of the labors of others, by gathering from them such facts and statis- 
tics as he presumed might be of interest to the citizens of Abington. He 
acknowledges his indebtedness to Bigelow's Statistics, Barber's Historical 
Collections, Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts, Morton's Memorials, 
Dean's History of Scituate, Eeed's History of the Reed Family, Thatcher's 
History of Plymouth, American Quarterly Register, Panoplist, Hobart's 
History and the Town Records of Abington, and various other publications 
found at the State House and on the shelves of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society. He would also express his thanks to Ellis Ames, Esq., of 
Canton, for valuable documents ; to Miss Marcia Thomas, Author of the 
Memorials of Marshfield ; to Rev. Martin Moore, of the Boston Recorder, 
and especially to Hon. Solomon Lincoln, Author of the History of 
Hingham, for free access to his valuable private historical library. — e. p. r>. 



•20 ABIXGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 

Avill grow up to manhood and to Avoinanhood, and at 
length, bciidmg under the infirmities of years, descend 
to theii' graves, long before the lapse of time will 
summon their descendants, as v>c are now summoned, 
to review the progress of their native town for a 
century and a half. 

Standing as we now do on the narroA\' isthmus which 
separates the Future from the Past, it is not easy to 
divest ourselves of all mterest in those who have gone 
before us, and especially in the men Avhose pious 
forethought, for the welfare of their posterity, led 
them through sacrifice, and toil, and perils of the 
wilderness, and heroic self-denial, to secure and trans- 
mit to us the inestimable boon of ciAil and religious 
liberty. 

Our fathers and mothers came hither ^Aith the faith 
of pilgrims and with a pilgrim spirit. Wearied Avith 
the oppressions of the old ANorld, and relying on the 
tender mercy of our God, they sternly resolved to 
take u]) their habitation in the desert, where foot 
of civilized man liad never trod, rather than surrender 
the rights of conscience, or suffer continued persecu- 
tion in their father-land. They came Mith the zealous 
hope of laying the foundations of main- generations, 
and of establishing the Gospel of the Kingdom of 
God in these then inhospitable wilds. For this they 



ORATION. . 21 

counted no hardship too severe, no sacrifices too great. 
All evils in their view seemed light compared with "the 
abommations they saw practiced in the land they had 
left, contrary to the revealed will of God," They 
could not endure the imposition upon then* hearts and 
consciences of any rites or ceremonies which tended to 
corrupt the spmtual worship of the ]Most High God. 
They loved the truth of God, — they loved the king- 
dom of Jesus, For this they cheerfully consented to 
privations, — for this they watched, they wept, they 
prayed ; — for this they counted not their li^es dear 
unto themselves ; and He who gave Israel a cloud for 
a covering by day, and a pillar of fire to give light m 
the night, guided, shielded, supported and defended 
them. He enabled them to accomplish their desu-e ; 
He rewarded their faith and self-denial, by giving them 
a pleasant land and a goodly heritage. He did more 
than this. He permitted them to transmit to unborn 
generations " Freedom to worship God," And we 
their children, who have entered into their labors, 
have gathered here to-day to pay a just and respectful 
tribute to their memory. It is fit that the festal board 
should be spread, and that the scattered children of 
the household come home, and keep this Jubilee with 
fervent prayers, with thanksgivmgs, and with songs of 
praise. It is fit that we pause in the midst of the 



'2-J. ABINGTON SEMI-CEXTKNXIAL CELEBRATION. 

rcvohiiii;- ccuiturics, and at tliis tli\idmg liiic between 
the I'uture and the Past, erect some humble memorial 
of our filial gratitude and love. Especially is it 
becoming in us to commemorate God's great goodness 
and mercy to our fathers, in confirming them in the 
lot of their inheritance, ^^■hen they were but a few men 
in number, yea, very few and strangers m it. 

^luch as our thoughts are prone to revel in the 
gorgeous hopes and pleasing promises of the Future. — 
much as we are absorbed in the contemplation of the 
momentous e\ents transpiring in connection with our 
I'resent National struggle with hydra-headed rebellion, 
we cannot and we ought not utterly to ignore the 
lessons of the Past. It is profitable to pause now and 
then for retrospection, and to glean from the historic 
page ^\hatcA"er facts, events, or incidents may indicate 
the progress of successive generations. 

"When in 1G85 the County of Phuiouth was incor- 
porated, it contained t^venty-onc towns, forty congre- 
gational societies, and one hundred and sca ent}"-five 
ministers. In this number of towns Abington was not 
included. The Court of Plymouth, however, caidy 
had this territory m "\iew for a futiue town. 

As early as 16-12, the first grant of land in this town 
Mas made by the Colony to Nathaniel Souther. Tliis 
grant embraced two hundred acres, designated as l}'ing 



ORATION. 23 

" above Weymouth path." Souther, to whom the 
grant was made, was chosen six years before, as the 
fii-st secretary of Phmouth Colony ; thu'ty-seven years 
afterwards he sold his title to James Lovell of Wey- 
mouth, who purchased for himself and Andi-ew^ Ford. 
On the land thus granted and conveyed and since 
knoAvn as Ford's Farm, the fh-st settlement in this town 
was probably made in about 1668. 

Andrew Ford's house is supposed to have stood not 
fax from where Deacon Joseph Cleverly now lives. 
In 1654, a grant of land three miles square, beginnmg 
at Accord Pond, and bounded easterly by the Scituate 
Ime, was made to Timothy Hatherly, then a resident 
of Scituate, a devout Christian, and a prominent 
and influential citizen in the Colony. Other grants of 
land were subsequently made to the heirs of Clement 
Briggs, to Phineas Pratt, James Lovell, Cornet Robert 
• Stetson, Lieut. Peregrine White, Lieut. James Torrey, 
Lieut. John Holbrook, Ensign Mark Fames, and 
probably to some others. 

Whatever might be the Indian titles to any of these 
lands, go^'ernment required that they should be scru- 
pulously extmguished, and no person Avas allowed to 
receive from any Indian a land title as a gift. 

Manamooskeagen, the name by which the territory 
of this toTA^iship was known to the Indians, was so 



24 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

called because its brooks abounded in beavers. It was 
principally taken from the east part of Bridgewater. 

The town is described in Barber's Historical Collec- 
tions as " situated on elevated land between Massachu- 
setts and Narraganset Bays." Between these Bays, it 
is probably the highest elevation, for all the water- 
courses lead out of town, and none into it. In the 
Massachusetts Historical Collections, the land is said 
to be of a moist, strong soil, and the best grazmg 
district in the county. The south-east part of the 
town was swampy and rocky, and from this cuTum- 
stance was known both before the incorporation of 
the town and for a long time after, by the significant 
name of " Little Comfort." 

The fh'st county road in town was the road now 
leading from East Bridgewater, by Edmund Gurney's 
house and by the South and Centre Meeting-houses, to 
WejTuouth. It was laid out in 1690, and was the 
road from Middleborough to Boston. At the period 
of the incorporation of the town, there was only one 
other county road. That led from Hanson to "Wey- 
mouth, through what is now called '• Plymouth Street." 

There were probably not above forty families resi- 
dent in town in 1712. Among these are recorded the 
names of Ford, Joselyn, Chard, Shaw, Reed, Dyer, 
Gurney, Tirrel, Jackson, Hersey, Whitmarsh, Porter, 



UliATlON. 25 

Harden, Nash, Bates, Lincoln, Pool, Noyes, and 
French. 

On the fourth day of July, 1706, a petition was 
presented to the General Court, for an Act of incorpo- 
ration. The petitioners were dhected to return a map 
or plan of the territory described m then petition, and, 
subsequently, to ascertain what sum the uihabitants 
and proprietors were willing to pay annually, for the 
support of an able, learned and orthodox mmister. 
As the means of the people were probably inadequate 
to enable the petitioners to report a satisfactory sum, 
the subject was deferred. A few years later, on the 
presentation of a new petition, the prayer of the 
petitioners was granted, and on the tenth day of 
June, 17 12, the General Court passed an Act of 
incorporation which constituted this territory the town 
of Abmgton. (Appendix, A.) 

Previous to this event, there were within the limits 
of the town, three saw-mills. The fu'st was John 
Porter's, built in 169-3, on the dam near Benjamin 
Hobart's, hi South Abington. The second, of Nash 
and Pool, was built about 1700, on the same stream, 
near where Gurney's Tack Factory now stands, yonder. 
The third, in 1703, by Thaxter, of Hingham, near the 
present site of Beal's corn-miU, in East Abmgton. 



20 AUIXGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

The early establishment of tlicsc^ mills confirms what 
history has recorded, that Abin<i^ton formerly furnished 
large quantities of masts and square timber, which 
found a market in the sea-board towns. 

The first rehgious society in this town probably 
embraced all the inhabitants of the settlement. The 
first Church, formed about 171"J, had eight male 
members, embracmg the names of Brown, Ilersey, 
Ford, TuTcl, Whitmarsh, Joselyn, Reed, and Lincoln. 
The fii'st meeting-house was a rude structure, un- 
painted, without steeple and without pews. Between 
the years 1750 and 1760, a new meeting-house was 
finished, and furnished Avith a bell of six hundred 
pounds. In 1770, this bell was re-cast by Colonel 
Aaron Hobart, mIio established one of the earliest bell 
foundries m the country. This second meeting-house 
was more fashionable. It had pews and a sounding- 
board. At a legal town meeting, held July 8, 1751, it 
was voted " to color the meeting-house with a skie color 
Sf mixe the color with Lincett oi/iy It was also voted, 
that all the north end of the meeting-house should be 
left for the w'omen. Nothing is said about an organ, 
or a clock, or even a furnace or a stove, such as adorn 
some of the more costly and elegant churches in town 
at the present day. In 1819, this house was taken 
down to give place to another, which has since been 



ORATION. 27 

converted into Hathcrly Hall, while the society now 
worships in a more modern, more convenient, and 
more costly honse, erected withm a few years on the 
north-east corner of the Rev. Mr. Xiles's homestead. 

The fu'st minister of this town was Rev. Samuel 
Brown, of Xewbury. He graduated at Harvard Uni- 
A'crsity in 1709, began to preach in Abmgton two 
years afterwards, and in 1714 was ordamed and settled. 
The first entry made m your town records embraces 
the articles of agreement between the uihabitants of 
Abington and Mr. Brown. The to^\T^i generously gave 
him, at his settlement, sixty acres of land for a home- 
stead, with a salary of £48, which was afterwards 
increased to £70. They showed him numerous other 
tokens of their kindness and interest in his temporal 
welfare. In the earlier years of his ministry, Mr. 
Bro^\•n appears to have been an acceptable preacher, 
and to have lived in harmony with the people. 
Difficulties at length arose ; Whitfield appeared ; 
Mr. Brown took a decided stand against him. Other 
difficulties arose. The sect called " New Lights " 
sprung up, and after a ministry of thu'ty-seven years, 
he resigned the pastorate, and died ui 1749, aged 
sixty-two years. 

In addition to the care of so extended a parish, the 
care of a farm, and the care of a family, ^Ir. Brown, 



28 AIJINCTOX .SP:MI-CKNTF-NNrAL CKLKI'.RATIOX. 

lik(^ many of the clergymen of his day, employed a 
portion of his h'isi/rc in ])racticinL( medicmc, hoth in 
this and in the neighboring towns, and is said to have 
had quite an extensive practice. 

In seven or eight months after Mr. Brown's decease, 
Mr. Ezekiel Dodge, of T])sa\ ich, was ordained as his 
successor, lie also was a graduate of ITarAard. lie 
was an amial)le and estimable man ; prudent and 
discreet, learned and devout, zealous and firm ; he 
commanded the respect and seemed the affections of 
his people ; and after a diligent and peaceful ministry 
of twenty years, among the ])(H)pl(^ of his first love, he 
died suddenly of apoplexy, m the forty-eighth year of 
his age. The town defrayed the expenses of liis 
funeral, and accordmg to the custom of that ])eriod, 
presented gold rmgs to the widow and the bearers. 

His successor w^as Rev. Samuel Niles, of Braintree, 
a graduate of Princeton. He was ordained in 1771. 

Mr. Niles was a man of more tlian ordinary note. 
He is presented to us, in the "American Quarterly 
llegister," as possessed of a " vigorous mtellect, and a 
heart imbued with the true spirit of the Gospel. He 
was an able and faithful minister, and though fond of 
metaphysical investigations, he did not neglect the 
oracles of God, but made them the standard of his 
faith and the rule of his life." Dr. Strong, of Randolph, 



ORATION. 29 

in his obituary notice of him, and the late Dr. Emmons, 
of Frankhn, confu-m this testimony. From them we 
learn that his manner of preachmg was plam, lumi- 
nous, solemn and impressive ; and that his sermons 
were full of weighty and solemn truths. He was a 
very agreeable, mterestmg, and hospitable man. With 
a large heart, deep knowledge of human nature, and a 
mmd capable of grasping great truths in Philosophy, 
Politics, and Peligion, he made his mark upon the 
character and customs of this people, and so deported 
himself during a ministry of forty years, as to leave a 
name more revered, and an influence for good more 
widely and permanently felt in this town, than that of 
any other man. So fervent were his public prayers 
and so impressive was his eloquence in the pulpit, it 
was impossible to sit under his preaching with levity 
or with mdifference. Mr. Niles represented this town 
at the General Court from 1808 till 1811, when a 
stroke of paralysis cut him off from the active duties of 
his caUmg, and the }ears which remamed to him were 
years of infirmity and pam. Yet he bowed submissively 
to the rod of the chastener, and in the sixty-nmth 
year of his age breathed out his sphit unto God who 
gave it. 

Those who never saw INIr. Niles, except on public 
occasions, might have regarded him as a very stern 



30 ABINGTON Sf:MI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATlUN. 

and austere man. But in social life he was far other- 
wise. Jle was dignified indeed, but Dr. Emmons 
describes him as especially entertainiui:; in private 
circles, by the flashes of his wit. and his curious and 
amusmg and striking and pertuient anecdotes. I 
know not that any of those anecdotes are recorded. 
But I remember to have heard my grandfather say 
that ]Mr. Niles was fond of excitins: wonder, bv relatino: 
mcidents bordering on the marvellous, and he gave 
this as a specimen. I once had occasion, said Mr. 
Niles, to go mto the woods with a yoke of cattle and a 
pair of forward wheels, to procure a stick of timber. 
The stick was forty feet long. I had chained up the 
but-end under the axle, and left the other end to drag 
on the ground. I started my team into the cart path, 
and went back for a few moments. When I returned 
and overtook my team the cattle were proceeding 
quietly along, but the stick of timber had changed 
ends and was fahly loaded on the top of the axle. 
This was doubtless a fact — the like might occur again 
in a stony and stumpy cart path — but how it happened 
was at the time to some a complete marvel. 

In 1807, a new church was formed in the south part 
of the town. Some of the citizens of East Bridgewater 
united with the citizens of that part of the town and 
organized a society, which was mcorporated in Febru- 



ORATION. 31 

ary, 1808, as the Union Calvinistic Society. A new 
meeting-house, with two steeples, was erected on land 
given by the late Ebenezer Porter, and dedicated June 
fii-st of the same year. Rev. Daniel Thomas, of 
Middleborough, a graduate of Bl•o^^'n University, was 
ordamed their pastor the same day. He was a man of 
very exemplary moral and Christian character. In 
pubhc, he was grave, gentle, modest and firm ; in 
private, social, entertammg and mstructive. He was 
not what might be termed an eloquent man, and yet 
neither durmg his long ministry of upwards of thh-ty 
years, nor since his decease, do I remember ever to 
have heard any man accuse him of levity in conduct or 
of unsoundness in the faith. 

In 1813, the Third Congregational Society was 
mcorporated in East Abmgton, and a church was 
organized with fifteen members. Then* first meeting- 
house was raised fifty years ago yesterday, on a lot of 
land given by the late David Hersey. It was erected 
in a bush pasture, near a forest of pmes, and nearly 
half a mile from any public road. That house was 
afterwards enlarged, and has smce given place to one 
of the finest houses of worship m the county. 

Of this society Rev. Samuel Colburn, a graduate of 
Dartmouth, was the first pastor, and continued his 
ministry as a faithful watchman and under shepherd 



■il AHINGTON SEMI-CENTKNMAL CKLKlUiATIoN. 

for about sixteen years. I lis successors are still 
living-. 

These societies were colonies from the I'irst Society 
clurmg- the life of ^\y. Xiles. Since that period no 
less than six new societies of various sects liaA e been 
formed, and beautiful houses of worslii]) liave been 
erected for then- accommodation, as all may see in this 
and other sections of the town. These societies are 
of the denommations of Baptist, Xcw Jerusalem, 
Methodist Episcopal, Congregational, and Universalist. 

But these are modern matters, and the sun would 
sink to his pavilion long before I could chronicle tlie 
events worthy of record, or rehearse the marvellous 
progress of this town from its small begmnmgs to its 
present high rank in population, wealth, manufactures 
and intelligence. 

It would be pleasant to dwell on many matters 
touching the early history of the to^^•n, beguniing with 
the first public school hi 1724, taught by Samuel 
Porter, senior, and glance at the vote of the town in 1 7-47 
to draw £50 from the treasury for tlie support of 
women's schools, and then point you to the universities, 
and colleges, and seminaries, where scores of the sons 
and daughters of Abington have since sought to lay a 
foundation for usefulness, by drinking at the fountains 
of classical learnine: ; i^nd then to stretch out X\\v hand 



ORATION. 66 

and point yon to the lesser institutions of learning 
which now rise up in every section of your town, 
supported by your generosity, for the benefit of those 
who are soon to enter into your labors. And at this 
point we might pause to congratulate you, citizens of 
Abington, that you still cherish the same regard for 
the educational and religious welfare of your successors 
which animated the bosoms of your worthy sires a 
century and a half ago. (Appendix, B.) 

It would be pleasant to trace the history of manu- 
factures in this town, from the period when Colonel 
Aaron Hobart fii-st cast cannon balls and cannon for 
the war of the Revolution, to the present hour. But 
we can only glance at a few of the more prominent 
items. Thread of flax was formerly manufactured 
here to some extent, and woollen fabrics and tow cloth 
were early woven in many a domestic loom. In 1813, 
David Pool and Josiah Holbrook, of this town, pub- 
lished in Providence, E.. I., an octavo volume entitled, 
" The American and European Harmony, or Abington 
Collection of Sacred Music."* Abington has had 
also its manufactories of cabinet work, of carriages, of 
leather, of saddles, trunks and harnesses, and bricks, 



* Tho chorister of the third church in Abington, Mr. David Holbrook, 
brother of Josiah, has, since the celebration, put into my hands a copy of 
this Collection. 



34 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

and still has its manufactures of ii-on and tin ware, of 
bread, confectionery, of clotliinf^f, and of excellent 
soap. But those branches to Avhich chief attention 
has been paid, and wliich ha^e over-shado\yed 
all the rest, are box-making, tack-makmg and 
shoemakmg, I know not who made tlie first 
boxes, the first nails, or the first shoes in town ; but 
the names of Elihu and Benjamin Hobart, Esquires, 
are prominent as pioneers in the history of the tack 
manufactures. I cannot remember so far back as fifty 
years, for I was not then an inhabitant of the town. 
But I well remember the original " tack tooL' invented 
by Ezekiel Reed, of this town, for headmg cut tacks ; 
and that successive improvements were afterAvards 
made in machinery for tacks and brads, by Col. Jesse 
Reed, his son, and by Blancharcl, Rogers and Otis, of 
other to"s\Tis, On the origmal machmes, tacks were 
simply headed, and it requu-ed some experience for a 
dihgent and skilful hand to head eight tliousand tacks 
in a day. Subsequently tacks were manufactured, cut 
and headed at a single operation by horse-power, after- 
wards by water-power, and now by steam, at the rate 
of from one hundred to two hundred thousand a day. 
For a fuller account of this branch of mdustry and 
source of wealth, as for many other historical matters 
of local interest, reference may be made to tlie valuable 



ORATION. 35 

"Historical Reminiscences," published in the "Abing- 
ton Standard," durmg the last two years, by Benjamm 
Hobart, Esq., of South Abmgton, who probably knows 
more of the history of this branch of business in this 
town, than any man livmg. 

The extensive boot and shoe business of Abington 
is of more recent growth. I well remember the days 
when, in this town, the shoemaker and cobbler com- 
bmcd m one, went from village to village and from 
house to house, like a bishop on his chcuit, to "do up" 
the making and mending of shoes for a neighborhood, 
and when Major Humble made rich music on his lap- 
stone, for the ears of expectant childi'en, who had the 
promise of their new whiter shoes the Aveek before 
Thanksgiving, — and now, the eyes of nearly half the 
world look to the boot and shoe manufactories of 
Abmgton for fashionable soles and serviceable under- 
standmgs. 

One promment reason why no more extensive man- 
ufactures prevailed here m former years, is found in 
the fact already stated, that Abmgton is better adapted 
by nature for agriculture than for manufactures, smce 
it contams the best soil for grazmg in Pl}-mouth 
County. Cattle were early kept here in large herds, 
sheep in great flocks. Page after page of your town 
records is filled with descriptions of the cattle-marks 



30 , ABINGTON SEMI-CHNTKXNIAL CELEBRATION. 

of Aiirioiis pi'oprietors, and votes rfi;ulatiii<,^ the iiiaii- 
a<;enieiit ol" flocks and lierds. Abiiigtou was then to 
1'1\ mouth, Marshficld, and the sliorc towns, '■' awaij up 
cDinifrijr and probably furnished large quantities of 
l)utter and cheese for market. While the shore towns 
engaged in fisheries, Al)ingt()n ])robablv furnished 
meats, flax, masts, lumbcM'. and Narious other products 
of agriculture for their consuinijtion. S(>pteinb(>r 4, 
1774. 'i'lie town votcnl that no flax-seed siiould be 
sold to any ])erson whatsoever, to go to sea, without 
ap])rol)ation of the ( ontinental Congress or of (icMieral 
Court of this Colony. 

A\ ]iil(^ the manufactures ol" Al)ingt(ni Inue wonder- 
fully increased, its agricultural products have propor- 
tionately decreased. Tn 1845, there were kept in toAvn 
four hundred and forty swme, ten years later only one 
hundred and fifty-four. The decrease in the product 
of Indian corn alone, from 1845 to 1850, was more 
than three hundred bushels. That of wheat, barley, 
oats, and rye, in proportion. Tn 181(), Abuigton was 
distinguished as the leading town in the county for 
fresh beef, nnitton, ikv. In 1850, theiv wcvre in town, 
eighty oxen ; ten years later only sixty, and only two 
sheep.* This decrease in agricultural ])roducts is the 

* This statement with rejjfard to sheep, taken from Bij^relow's Statistics 
compiled from valuation returns, I learn is erroneous. There have never 
been in town so- few sheep, though tlio number is ver}' small. 



ORATION. 37 

more to be regretted as the arable lands of Abingtoii 
are generally strong and productive, so strong and so 
productive that in 18-45 there were raised of potatoes, 
in this town, 2-4,509 bushels. Another reason, prob- 
ably, why manufactures were not more extensively 
established here in early years, is found in the great 
elevation of the town, and the consequent shallowness 
of the water-courses, so that there was no water-power 
to tempt the establishment of mills, save that which 
Avas early improved for corn and saw-mills. The whole 
number of acres of land in Abington Avas found by 
actual survey in 1860 to be 16,106 acres, of Avhich 
upAvards of IJJOO acres are covered Avith Avood and 
Avater. 

When Ave look abroad over the villages Avhicli rise 
to-day in every section of this toAvn, and look into the 
public schools, and see there the seventeen hundred 
children betAveen the ages of fiAe and fifteen, and aa'Iio 
AAath mottocd banners are so beautifully represented 
here to-day, obserAe the numerous temples AAhere a 
majority of them, Ave Avould hope, are instructed from 
the pulpit and in the Sabbath schools ; Avhen Ave count 
the numerous habitations AAdiere they dAvell, many of 
them elegant and expensive structures ; Avhen Ave 
survey the lovely cemeteries set apart and consecrated 
for the repose of the departed, and listen to the hum 



38 AlUNCTON SK.MI-CHNTKNNIAL CELEBRATION'. 

of industry M'liicli pervades all ])f)i-tions of the town 
and which reveals the medium of all this wealth and 
prosperity, ^\c find it difficult to go back even in 
imagination, to that distant period anIicu the Massa- 
keesets roamed through the haunts of nature here, 
and claimed the privilege of liuntmg the moose, the 
deer and the bear m these wilds, and fishing for 
troutlets in these streams ; when the Indian paddled 
his light canoe along this unfettered stream, and heard 
only the growl of the bear, the howl of the wolf and 
the screaming of the eagle. Then Wampatuck, the 
son of Chickatabut, claimed dominion here, as the 
Sachem of his tribe, and the smoke of the wigwam 
may ha-se risen from the very spot where we are 
assembled. It is difficult, I say, amid all this progress 
of civilized life, to go back to the period when the 
primal trees stood here an unbroken forest, covered 
with the moss of centuries, and concei\'e of the red 
man employmg all his sagacity and skill in hunting 
the bear, and entrapping the beaver, just as his tawny 
predecessors had done ages before him. Yet more 
than a century after the Mayflower discharged her 
precious cargo on Plymouth Hock, and fourteen years 
after the incorporation of this town, I find a record 
which states that on application of Scituate and eight 
families of Abington to be set off to that town, the 



ORATION. 39 

inhabitants of this town m theu* dissent, give the 
followmg reasons : First, that there were but fifty-three 
families in toAvn, five of whom were lately married and 
lived under the roofs of others, six of them were 
widows, and of the rest, some of them were so poor 
that they were not rated, but had need of support from 
the town ; and Second, that only the easterly part of 
the town was then fit for settlement. 

At this time, 1726, Abmgton was altogether the 
poorest town in Pljuiouth County. In the list of the 
Provmce taxes for that year, the tax of Abington was 
only £35 4s 8d, while that of Scituate (then mcluding 
Hanover) was £317 6s. At that period there was not 
a town in the whole county which was not taxed con- 
siderably more than twice as much as Abington. In 
1751, twenty-five years later, out of fourteen towns in 
the county, Abington was the ninth m pomt of wealth. 
In 1800, Abington was the eighth town ; m 1830, the 
sixth ; hi 1851, the fourth ; and m 1861, the valuation 
of Abington by the State, greatly exceeded that of any 
other town m the county ; and while the whole State 
taxes of Scituate, South Scituate and Hanover were 
only $5,958, those of Abington alone were |7,578. 

(Appendix, C.) 

AVhen I call to mind these feeble begimiings and 
then look upon the thrift and prosperity of my native 



40 ABINGTOX SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

town to-day, embracing a popnlation of near eight 
thousand six hundred souls, I am tempted to exclaim, 
behold, what hath God wrought ! 

In lookmg over the record of men who ha-se held 
promuient positions in the town in former years, 1 find 
the names of many, whose descendants are still m itli 
you. Conspicuous among them stands the name of 
Woodbridge Brown, the son of the first minister of 
the town.* Besides filling the office of Town Clerk, 
and various other town offices, he represented the town 
in General Court for a period of sixteen years — begm- 
ning with the May and June session, 1759, and ending 
in 1777. He was a staunch foe to oppression, and a 
worthy and valuable member of society. In the House 
of Representatives he made his influence felt. He 
was a prominent politician of that day, and is men- 
tioned by name in Hutchinson's History of ^lassachu- 
settSjf as one of the most active and zealous members 
of the House of Representatives, in opposition to the 
measures of the British Parliament. He was a dele- 
gate to the Convention in Boston in 1768, to the first 
Pro'V'incial Congress in Salem in 1774, and to the 
second at Cambridge in tlie year following. One of 



* AVooDBKiDGE Brown, son of Rev. Samuel and Dorothy, was born 
Sept. 28, 1714. Besides his civil honors, he attained the military title of 
captain. 

t Vol. 3. page 338, Note. 



ORATION. 41 

his great grandsons, Hon. Jared Whitman, is with ns 
to-day. Dr. David Jones was also a prominent man in 
town at this period. He was a delegate to the thh'd 
Provincial Congress at Watertown m 1775, to the 
Convention at Concord in 1779, and also at Cambridge 
in the antumn of the same year, to form a Constitution 
for the State. Col. Aaron Hobart, whose son is also 
with us to-day, was likewise a distinguished citizen ; 
he represented the town in General Court from 1793 
to 1806, inclusive. Of his grandsons, Elihu was a 
promhient pioneer ui the tack manufactures in this 
town, and Hon. Aaron, of East Bridgewater, was at one 
time a representative in Congress, afterwards a Judge 
of Probate for the County of Plymouth, and author of 
a Historical Sketch of Abington. Wilham Reed, Town 
Clerk of Abington for the fii-st six years, and after- 
wards employed m various offices, appears to have 
been a promment and valuable citizen. He is repre- 
sented here to-day by numerous descendants, and 
among them by the Chairman of the Selectmen of 
Abington, and in the person of the Auditor of the 
State, Hon. Levi Reed, President of the Day. But I 
may not pursue this history. The famous Abington 
Resolves of 1770, full of determmed and patriotic zeal, 
were highly honorable to the town and attracted great 
attention as noble resolves, both in this country and in 

6 



42 ABINGTOX SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

Great Britain. Tlicir author was Joseph Greenleaf, 
Esq., then a citizen of Abington. (Appendix. 1).) 

For military ardor Abin2:ton lias always been distin- 
gviished. In the old French war wliicli lasted seven 
years, and closed in 1763, and wlu>n tlic p.')])nlation of 
the town was only about 1,200, it a])])ears that Abing- 
ton furnished about eighty men. In tlic Iic^volutionary 
Avar, Abington was jironipt and ready \\\\\\ men and 
means for the defence of ci\il liberty, and stood fore- 
most amons: the towns of Plvniouth Countv in the 
maintenance of American Independence. (Appendix, 
Yi.) In the war of 1812 she was nobly represented 
by her brave solcUers, some of whom are with us 
to-day, to share our gratitudt^ and ])articipate in this 
festival. (Appendix, F.) I need not tell you that 
hundreds of others of her noble sons have more recently 
responded to their country's call, buckled on their 
armor and marched to the tented field — rejoicing m the 
hope, that when they shall return m the gleam of then- 
arms, the woes of oppression in this land will be 
extinguished forever, and that our country will thence- 
forth be, what our fathers meant it should be, 

" The hind of the Free, and the home of the IJrave." 

In conclusion, permit me to congratulate you, Mr. 
President, and you fellow-citizens of Abington, on tlie 



ORATION. 43 

almost unparalleled growth of this town during the lapse 
of a century and a half. I have aimed to present for 
your consideration, some of the points of interest in 
the early history of the town, that by contrast of the 
present wdth the past, we might derive some whole- 
some lessons. 

From the fact that your fathers, the primitive set- 
tlers, left their earlier homes in the shore towns of 
Weymouth, Hmgham, and Scituate, and pushed out 
boldly into the wilderness, you know that they were 
men of enterprise, relymg on God and on theh own 
right arms. When you contemplate their privations, 
the perils they encountered, the self-denial they prac- 
ticed and the hardships they endured, you know that 
they were men who had some great and worthy object 
m Aiew. They labored m hope, sustained and cheered 
by a faith which gave substance to the things they 
hojDed for. 

As soon as the blue smoke began to curl upwards 
from their rude dwellmgs, ui the clearmgs they had 
made m the forest, and while yet they were scarce 
provided with the necessaries of life for themselves 
and for their childi'en, you see them animated with the 
same spirit which brought the band of the Ma\'flower 
over and cheerfully makmg heavy sacrifices for the 
estabhshment among them of a preached Gospel. 



44 ABIXGTON SEMI-CENTEXNIAL CELEBRATION. 

'I'licv and their immediate descendants settled their 
ministers for life, and gave each a handsome settle- 
ment, and each successive minister laid his plans 
for a life-long mmistry of usefulness. As soon as 
they were able, they established the public school. 
They made liberal appropriations for its support, and 
because they exercised such prudent foresight and 
made such cheerful provision for the intellectual and 
spiritual benefit of all the inhabitants of the town, 
their children s children rise up and call them blessed. 
Full well they knew that ci^il and rehgious liberty 
must have their foundation in tlie vntue and uitelli- 
gence of the people. 

After all we have said, you know full well, fellow- 
citizens, that not to our fathers, but to our fathers' 
God, belong the honors of this day. For has He not 
said, them that honor me I will honor, and they that 
despise me shall be Hghtly esteemed ? 

Lift up your e^es now and look backward to the 
dim past ; look over the century and a half m hose 
anniversary we celebrate to-day. lift up your eyes 
over all the towns in this county, and picture in 
imagmation, if you can, their early advantages for 
growth and progress compared with Abington, and 
then tell me where among them all has there been a 
beguming so feeble, a lo^e of freedom and a hatred of 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 45 

oppression so marked unci uniform, an expansion so 
rapid, a progress and prosperity so wonderful and so 
great ? (Appendix, G.) Look again, and tell me which 
of all these towns has been so earnestly and faithfully 
instructed in the knowledge and service of the Son of 
God, and so careful to maintain, in its simplicity and 
purity agamst every form of error, the religious faith 
of the Pilgrims ? Long may the smile of God rest 
on this town, — its prosperity continue, and its intel- 
ligence, patriotism, and piety, make it the glory of 
the County and an honor to the State. 



Music by the South Abington Band followed, thus 



concluding the exercises of the forenoon. 



At the close of the exercises in the grove, a pro- 
cession was formed in nearly the same order as before, 
and proceeded to dimier. A large tent had been 
erected near the entrance to the grove, where Messrs. 
Heed & Noyes had provided dimier for seven hun- 
dred and fifty persons. Many were unable to procure 
tickets to the dinner, the supply having been exhausted 
early in the morning. 

The assembly having taken thek places at the tables 
and quiet being restored, the President of the Day 
called upon the Chaplain, who invoked a blessmg. 



40 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTEXXIAL CELEIiRATION. 

After tlio refreshments had been partaken of, the 
President introdueed the intellectual repast in the 
following remarks : — 

Hallowed be the day, forever hallowed he the day, as each 
returning half eentury brings around the time that com- 
memorates the natal day of the town of Abington. 

We are especially fortunate to-day in having with us the 
Governor of the Commonwealth, who, laying aside the cares 
of State, meets with us to honor the day. We welcome 
here also the members of the Executive Council, who visit 
us. We welcome home especially those sons and daughters 
of Abington who have been induced from any cause, whether 
of business or pleasure, to take up their residence aljroad. 
I, also, luive lived much away, and after all my wanderings 
have returned and settled in the old town, and from my 
heart can say, "with all thy faults I love thee still." 



At the conclusion of his remarks, the President 
mtroduced Mr. Samuel N. Cox, the Toast-master,* 
A\lio announced the regular sentiments f as follows : — 

1. Tlie President of the United States. 

Responded to by the Weymouth Ijand. " Hail to 
the Chief." . 



* The Toast-master takes this method to acknowledge liis indebtedness 
to several gentlemen, who kindly furnished sentiments for the occasion. 

t It Avas greatly regretted that some of tlie sentiments could not be 
responded to for want of time, but gentlemen who would have spoken, 
had time permitted, have very kindly furnished such remarks as they 
would otherwise have made. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 47 

2. The Commonu-enlth of Massachusetts. 

His Excellency Gov. Andrew, being called upon, 
replied as follows : — 

BIr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : — 

I apprehend the President of your gathering to-day will 
find hereafter that he has an account to settle with me 
which, although he is the Auditor of the Commonwealth, 
he will find it difficult to adjust. 

I perceive that on your programme of performances upon 
this most interesting occasion, I am written down and under- 
lined for a speech. Now I always try to keep my engage- 
ments. And in this presence I will make no accusations 
against any body else ; but if it should turn out to be any 
disappointment to any ladies or gentlemen present that they 
should receive no speech from jonr humble servant, it will 
neither be their misfortune nor my fault. Though I attempt 
no speech, I am exceedingly happy, as the official repre- 
sentative of this grand old Commonwealth of ours, to make 
some humble response in the spirit of that sentiment, with 
which, — while you, men and women of Abington, are cele- 
brating to-day the history, the lives, the achievements, the 
virtues and conquests of your ancestors, — you have paused 
a moment to recollect the Commonwealth, the mother, the 
guardian, the guide, and the protector of us all. 

You would not ask that any one not native to your soil, 
not to the manor born, should attempt to speak to you of 
them, of the venerable men from whom you sprung, nor to 
presume to relate their history. This very air whispers now 
in our ears of their lives and their aspirations. These groves 
are vocal now with echoing notes of their voices, their indus- 



48 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTKNNIAL CELEBRATION. 

try, their praycr.s, their hopes. One who has a right to speak 
for the fathers and the mothers of Abington, being himself 
one of their children, has woven together in artistic story 
to-day, presented in the form of graceful speech, the sub- 
stance and outline of their annals ; and another of their 
sons will make music in poetic numbers as he too again 
rehearses the tale. 

The Past sometimes is said to be ours, and sometimes only 
tlie Present, I tliink tliat the Future alone can be called 
our own. The Past is inexorable; its history is written ; it 
stands in imperishable record. Its memory may be forgot- 
ten, but still it is there. No prayers or tears of ours can 
change its character or efface a line or blot. The Present 
passes, and escapes from our grasp even while we are trying 
to hold it. But the Future is before lis and sure to us all. 
Of that no man can be defeated or defranded ; it is ours by 
a promise as unerring and sure as the fiat of God. And, 
Mr. President, friends and fellow-citizens, as a part of 
the people of the Commonwealth of that Massachusetts 
you gratefully remember, so in our capacity as a part of the 
people of our Federal Union of States, we have a hand and 
voice in the creation of a greater Future, more brilliant, more 
noble, more blessed to humanity, and more true and just to 
God, than any Past known yet to mortals. Of Avhat worth 
were it to remember how great and good were the fathers 
and mothers from whom we sprung, of wliat valu(,> to our 
souls, and to our happiness here or hereafter, were it to be 
unable to forget that they were brave and virtuous, that they 
were industrious, faithful and pious, devoted lovers of man 
and fearers of God, if we by any selfishness or cowardice 
of ours sliould permit ourselves to l)e untrue to Ibcir his- 
tory, to their faith iiiid tlicir doctrine V 'i'he i)rovi(len('(! of 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 49 

Almighty God sends to every people its own blessing and its 
own trial. The brightest blessing and the surest one to 
men is a certain deliverance out of every trial — to every 
people who are worthy to be delivered. 

You, Sir, have heard to-day reference to that which is 
frequently in your thoughts — the struggles of the early fore- 
fathers, and of the men of later date, the men of the Revo- 
lution, and the men of that later war of independence, (some 
of whose illustrious representatives, with their whitened 
hairs, honor these festivities.) And you turn, sadly yet 
fondly, from those subjects and reminiscences, to contemplate 
the experiences of this very hour — at once a contrast and 
a correspondence. Those men fought, sometimes against 
savage foes, alien to their blood, sometimes against foreign 
foes, alien to the soil ; but the men of Massachusetts and of 
loyal America to-day fight against savage foes, and yet neither 
alien to their blood nor soil ! " Our most familiar friend " 
has lifted up his heel against us. Our enemies have come to 
be " those of our own household," therefore the bitterer the 
sorrow, the keener the anguish, the more trying and dread- 
ful the encounter ; but yet the sterner and more unconquer- 
able the solemn duty. And well have the men and the 
women of Massachusetts performed it. Well have they met 
and performed the solemn task of dreadful war. More than 
forty thousand of her sons — bravest and best — have been 
poured out from her teeming lap. Fighting to-day, they 
stand, wherever floats our country's starry banner, on land 
or sea, on lake or winding river, ploughing through perilous 
morasses, scaling mountain heights, or in the sharpest battle 
encountering the foe, steel to steel. There they stand, rep- 
resentatives of true New England character. Who without 
tears could read the gallant conduct of our Tenth Regiment, 

7 ^ 



50 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

forming the other clay at tlic Ijattle of " Fair Oaks," in the place 
assigned them, and standing fast while out from the cover of 
the sheltering woods there came the stealthy and noiseless 
step of the subtle foe, to pour in upon their fhuik and rear 
liis deadly fire? And yet those Massachusetts l)oys from 
Berkshire hills and the Connecticut valley, who at last har- 
vest were putting the sickle to the grain, — who mowed the 
grass last summer on the Hoosack and the Housatonic, and 
shocked tlie corn in the valley of the Connecticut only last 
year — stood firm and brave before the dreadful carnage, closed 
up their thinning ranks, and dressed up to line as if upon 
parade. Their column thinned once more, they close up 
again. And four times did these brave boys re-form their 
ranks, and at last, with desperate courage, aided by the 
Seventh — gathered here mainly from your counties of Ply- 
mouth and Bristol, they and the unsurpassed Fifteenth, of 
Worcester, charged home upon the enemy, carrying victory 
upon their banners, and death upon their bayonets. 

From the battle of Bull R\in, from Ball's Bluff, from the 
Peninsula, near Yorktown, from wherever a shot has been 
fired for Liberty and Union, to the banks of the Mississippi, 
even to Pea Ridge, in distant Arkansas, there have the sons 
of New England stood, and I, as an humble representative 
of the Commonwealth, have marched a silent mourner l>y 
the bier of a son of Massachusetts who fell at the head of 
the regiment he so gallantly led, the head of the foremost 
column on the bloody, but at last victorious field of Shiloh. 
Nowhere, but a Massachusetts boy, a son of the old Bay 
State, has stood in the attitude of a soldier with the heart 
(»!' the freeman and patriot, to die, if need l)e, like a man. 

AVho shall see the end of all this? To what ken, but the 
prescience of Almighty God is it possible to know when, 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 51 

where, liow, by what means, or with what precise result all 
this shall end. How many more of these fair flowers of the 
forest, of the field, of the town ; how many bright hopes of 
our young manhood, how many of the blossoms of our 
youth, the hopes of the fathers and the mothers — shall fall 
beneath this terrible shock and curse of war ? To Him alone 
who counts the hairs of our heads and watches the sparrow's 
flight and fall, is it possible to answer that question. But to 
the faithful heart, to the believing soul, to the firm patriot, 
to the true sons of our fathers, the ultimate answer to that 
question is not insecure. He who blessed them in the past 
and rewarded their fidelity, shall bless us in the future, if 
while we are true to that flag — our country's ensign — we are 
true to the principles of our government, true to its union and 
to its LIBERTY ; faithful to every duty, as the onward provi- 
dence of events shall point it out. Faithful, firm, brave and 
serene, in the presence of danger, joyful in every triumph, 
serene in every disaster, let our people stand, and whatever 
duty shall be revealed day by day, let them be prepared to 
do. If there is any mistake of duty it is not in the mass of 
the American people. If there is any misunderstanding, it 
is not in the judgment, the conscience, or the heart of our 
people. They are freer to follow than their leaders are to 
lead. If there is any blunder in the politics, the policy, the 
philosophy or the faith of the country, it is in that reluc- 
tance, that hesitancy, upon the part of many men who, 
through their control of the press, and in their capacity as 
representative men, are thus in some sort leaders of the 
people. 

One element, often left out of the estimate of public men, 
has been the disaster of public policy. Our people are edu- 
cated in literature, religion, in morals, in business, in public 



52 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

affairs — educated not only in their own persons, but in the 
persons of their fathers before tlieni. Intelligence is 
jiative to us, in our blood and in our bones; so that 
lie MJio does not count into all his calculations touching- 
public affairs this element, to wit, the instinctive sagacity 
and sense of the American people, commits a blunder 
greater than a crime, which not all the waters of the 
Mississippi can wash out. Now, Sirs, I stand here not 
to be a prophet ; I am here only by your courtesy and 
sufferance. I am not bold enough to make myself stand 
in the category of leadership to any body, but as one 
of the humblest of the pcoj)le, as one of the sons of a 
Massachusetts sire, born and nurtured, and educated in 
the midst of the affairs and duties of humble, common life, 
with sympathy — according to my capacity for intelligent 
sympathy — with men because they are Iinman, as well as 
because they are neighbors or friends, I dare say that 
the people of Massachusetts will discover and will pursue 
with deliberate wisdom, but with the enthusiasm of faith, 
the policy of duty. They will follow the suggestions of 
wisdom, and justice, and truth, and humanity, and patriot- 
ism, and right, in their own breasts, and following in that 
they shall assist to re-gather the broken fragments of our 
Union, They shall go forward in the restoration of peace 
to our distracted country. They shall lead in building on 
the sure foundations of eternal right, with which all institu- 
tions must be compatible or never endure. And your chil- 
dren, and your children's children, down to the latest hour 
of future time, gathering here in this pleasant grove, or 
wheresoever they may be wont to assemble on their days of 
rejoicing — tliougli centuries shall have rolled away — shall 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 53 

call you blessed, more blessed than the fathers which you 
commemorate to-day. 

And now, Mr. President, may I dare to say that in what- 
ever work or duty which may be assigned to any one of us, 
we shall not be faithless. Shall we not pledge ourselves 
on this solemn anniversary as well as joyful festival, in 
the midst of the trying and severe tasks which surround 
us, to a pious and faithful devotedness, in the humble hope 
that as God was to our fathers, so shall he be to us and our 
children, because we will to follow after Him, — and that as he 
led Israel by the pillar of cloud by day and his pillar of fire by 
night, so we will follow after the signs of our time the lead- 
ings of that same Providence, whether we see those signs in 
the heavens above, or whether we read those intimations on 
the heart itself. But, Sirs, in scanning the horizon of human 
affairs in order to discern the signs of the times, let us not 
commit the fatal error of studying only the floating clouds 
to follow the blowing of the winds. 

A friend and disciple of General Jackson, once told me 
that the patriotic old hero, although the idol of the people 
in his time, the most powerful of popular leaders in his 
capacity to concentrate the affection and trust of the people 
around his own person, was a conspicuous example of indif- 
ference to momentary clamor, and of confidence that the 
honest intelligence of the people would sustain him in doing 
right ; and that it might almost literally be said that when 
he wished to discover popular sentiment, he looked into his 
oivn heart. And knowing that he had a brave and honest 
heart of his own, he trusted to the sympathy and agreement 
of all brave and honest men. 

And now, Mr. President, thanking you and your associ- 
ates, the people of xVljington, the sons and daughters of this 



I 



54 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELHBRATION. 

ancient and prosperous town, for the opportunity of partak- 
ing in llie festivities of tliis anniversary, I give you as a 
sentiment. 

The brave and honest heart. 

At the close of the Governor's remarks the Presi- 
dent called for three cheers for Governor Andrew, 
which were given with a hearty good will. 

'llic South Abington Band then played an appro- 
priate piece of music. 



3. The Natural Productions of Ahington. — Although they are somewhat 
limited, yet we are not destitute of native poets, upon whose resources 
we have not hesitated to call, and whose response has been most cordial. 



James Wilson Ward, Jr., Esq., of Guilford, Conn, 
dug introdu 
lowinir Poem. 



hciuii' introduced to the assemblv, delivered the fol- 



The, ]\Iuses of old — so wo have been told — 
Wc'iH! very accomplished young ladies ; 

And they had for their beaux, every school-boy knows, 
All the poets on earth and in Hades. 

And the rhymesters e'en now are all raising a row, 
And bowing and scraping before them. 

Though over fourscore, old spinsters of yore, 
AVhut a crowd of young fellows adore tlicin. 

1 nuist own I can't yet bear a faded c()([uette, 
And I'm not such a tanic-Iicartcd kiltcn 

As to go and propose, where all the world knows, 
T nni sure to jjct the mitten. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 55 

So I'll call the grapes sour, and keep clear of the bower 

Where the tuneful nine are reposing ; 
Though bewitching they be, — between you and me, 

They can just keep on with their dozing. 

No heathenish Muse can ever infuse 

Inspiration sufficient to guide me ; 
But for fear I shall faint, I invoke every saint 

To come down and stand beside me. 

The saint above all upon whom I would call. 

Is the patron saint of leather, 
Who has blessed this town with a fair renown 

And called its children together. 

Then a song let us raise in Saint Crispin's praise 

For his kindly Avatchfulness o'er us, 
Till the quivering ground echoes back the sound 

Of our wild tumultuous chorus. 

* 
Our shoemakers here wince not at a sneer, 

Whether coming from foe or neighbor. 
Though fools may deride, there's an honest pride 

And a dignity in labor. 

When rebel lords with maudlin words 

Prate loudly of " greasy mechanics," 
Our ci'aftsmen abide at their benches in pride 

And show us no Bull-Run panics. 

Would that all were acquaint with that glorious saint. 

The saint of the awl and the hammer — 
An example sublime to Ihc men of our time. 

Who fill the world with their clamor. 



56 ABINCTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

Tlioufih iioI)ly Ijorn, lie did not scorn 

At the slioemaker's Ijoncli to labor. 
^^'lH•I•e a great heart is sliuwii, tlir licnch is a tiirone, 

And the lowliest 8eat, Mount 'J'ahor. 

The .shoe in his hand grew sacred and grand 
As {)roudly he wrought at the leather ; 

And I seem to read now, on his kingly brow — 
" Here Virtue and Skill meet together." 

At humanity's call he labored for all, 

And all mankind were his brothers ; 
Like his blessed Lord he preached the good word, 

And lived all his life for others. 

In the stillness at night, by a candle's light 

He plied his diligent hammer, 
And continued by day to preach and to pray 

In spite of opposing clamor. 
• 
When in death he bowed, a title more proud 

Than crown or knightly garter 
Can ever give, was his to receive — 

God's own thrice blessed mart;^T. 

And the people of France, his fame to eidiauce, 

Built a temple of stately splendor, 
AYhere shoemakers came to honor the name 

Of their patron and defender. 

That cathedral of yore stands majestic no more 

With its arches broad and ample ; 
But tli:it saint has a shrine in youi" hcni't and niine. 

And Abingtcm is his temple. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 57 

There comes from a source — trustworthy of course — 

This very authentic tradition, 
That the saint, worn out by the noise and the rout. 

Left Europe upon a mission. 

He souglit for rest in the land of tlie West, 

Far over the rolUng waters ; 
And he found him a home 'neath the heaven's broad dome, 

Witli tlie pilgi'im sons and daughters. 

As he gazed around o'er the unbroken ground, 

Exploring the wilderness nation, 
He beheld a grove, such as fairies love, 

And selected this location. 

" Ah, here I'll abide," the old saint cried, 

" And here my craft I will nourish, 
All around this lake, a town I will make. 

And by my help it shall flourish." 

Thus has Abington her swift course run 

All under Saint Crispin's protection ; 
May he long dwell here to bless and to cheer 

The town of his own election. 

And the good saint to-day is not far away ; 

On the tops of these trees he is -walking — 
Stretching out his kind hands, there the old saint stands — 

And hark ! I can hear him talking. 

In silence profound, let us list to the sound ; 

For 'tis an unheard of wonder 
That the saint should talk in his airy walk 

Over the pine trees yonder. 
8 



58 ABIXGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

" Old Aljington, Old Abing^ton, fondly bclovr-d of yore, 

With joy I view this festive scene, and greet you all once more ; 

Your fathers were a goodly race, sturdy and fearless men, 

For honest hearts and willing hands were oidy jun-tured then. 

Be children worthy of your sires ; be freemen brave and true ; 

Serve God ; uphold the right ; be bold, and all your duty do. 

Be high-souled patriots in all the meaning of the word, 

And prove your title to that name, if need be with the sword. 

Thrice blessed are the patriot dead, who sleep beneath the sod, 

Proud martyi's to their native land, to liberty and God ! 

Old Aldington, God bless your sons ! In glory may you stand, 

AViiile you are true to God and man, and love your native land." 

The saint bows down his hoary head, and the tears begin to flow ; 
The fervor of his saintly breast no mortal ken may know ; 
lie turns away ; — ^Iie cannot speak ; — his blessing on us rests, 
And we will shout a loud amen to all his kind behests. 

Saint Crispin is the prince of all the patriotic saints ; 

Apostle of true liberty, liis ardor never faints. 

When ancient knight threw down the glove, the mischief was to pay. 

So wlien the cobbler drops his shoe, let cowards slink away ! 

In stalwart arm, in sturdy hand, our confidence was put, 

Till all the country learned to trust one stout and valiant Foote. 

Though handling rebels all with (/loves, not just exactly suits. 

Perhaps 'twould do to let them feel the toes of Northern boots. 

Saint Crispm in those tx'oublous days, when first this ])lot was hatched. 
When all our statesmen scratched their heads, and pondered as they 

scratched. 
Beheld their puzzled looks, and said " Why this will never do ; 
Some one must cut the Gordian knot, or just untie the shoe." 
Let those who patch with compromise, just fling the shoe away, 
Or hanuiKT in steel nails enough to make the sole taps stay. 
The good saint's plan in sliort was this — with stout, determhied h:ind 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 59 

To knock away the cliosen props on which the rebels stand. 
To clothe the rascals all with shoes, would be too great a tax, 
We'll take the plain raw-hide undressed, and lay it on their backs ; 
For it is clear to all man-kind, and evident to brutes, 
Theii' labors must be bootless when they all are out of boots. 

Saint Crispin spake — his words were few, he used no subtle charms — 
"Ye freemen brave of Abington, attention, shoulder arms !" 
Shoemakers left their boots unpegged, Hung down the niniljle awl, 
And forthwith rushed into the ranks and answered to the call. 
And many a lierce and bloody light has signally displayed 
Tlie stanch, unyielding stuff of which old Abington is made. 
Mid tempests thick with leaden hail, mid hot and sulphurous blast, 
They prove the olden adage true, and still " stick to the last." 

And now the rebels jaded out, stand trembling in their shoes. 
Or wander up and down the earth like God-forsaken Jews. 
Their shoes, now full of gaping holes, hang loosely round their shins, 
And open wide their cruel mouths and twit them with their sins. 
They have so hard a road to go, it hurts their tender legs ; 
Whene'er they meet the enemy, 'tis sure to start their pegs. 
And since their pe(/s alone uphold their soles and keep them strong, 
'Tis plain that cursed with shaky pegs, they must give out e'er long. 
And when their understanding fails, and all their soid is gone, 
Since their sole hope is in their heels, their case must be forlorn. 
And lest by sad experience taught, those crafty Southern chaps 
Should strive Avith awl and last to guard against such dii'e mishaps, 
The saint would hint to Uncle Sam, before the coming fall 
To take the last they have away, and confiscate their all. 
And then the shoeless chivalry, can only rant and curse ; — 
Though waxed ends sometimes pierce the sole, their end is waxing 

worse. 
Alas for Southern chivalry ! All pride must have a fall ; 
The Butler of St. Charles Hotel is greater than they all. 
A Porter there in New Orleans scares their poor souls to death ; 



60 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

Ami wlicn tln'y hear his iron tread, they gasp and hold their breath. 

The bnekle of Jeff. Davis's shoe is tightening inch by incli ; — 

lie writhes in lielpless agony — the shoe begins Id ))in(h! 

And to the latchet of that shoe is tied an hempen tliread, 

That ugly twine that most of all those Southern fellows dread. 

And higli aloft that cord is flung over a sturdy limb, 

His heels ily up, — he swings in air, and that's the last of him. 

Young Absalom from oaken bough swung dangling by his hair ; 

Stern Justice snatched him from his steed, and fixed the rebel there. 

But with arcli rebels now a days, fate not so gently deals, 

"\Vlicn from tlie proud palmetto ti'cc she hangs them by their heels. 

AViica first the rebels, bent on sin, this wicked strife began. 

They thought their stohm shoes would last while tlnjy worked out 

their plan. 
They got more than they bargained for, those Yankees were so cute — 
To consummate their enterprise required too much hoot. 
Tliey finished up shoe leather fjist, skedaddling o'er the road, 
And though their faces might be brass, they were not copper toed. 
Their shoes are now past all rejiaii', and one need not be told 
That since their shoes cannot be tapped, they must themselves be 

sold. 
Jeff. Davis, like that famous dame who once lived in a shoe. 
Has got so many barefoot boys, he don't know Avhat to do. 
They did not calculate at first to run one steady race. 
And like the dove, sent from tlie ark, still find no resting place. 
Why can't they like that ancient l)ird no more '"vamose the ranch," 
P»ut come bark to the good old ark bringing the olive branch. 

About poor wretches so forlorn 'tis hcartlessness to jest; 
When time is meting out their doom, why we can let them rest. 
With joy we turn to brighter scenes and view those noble souls, 
'J'liat History on her scroll of fame with conscious pride enrolls. 
Ye soldiers of Old Abington, now marshalled in the tield, 
The Lord, the Lord Almighty be your buckler and your shield ! 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 61 

Whether in life or death, in camp or mid the cannon's roar, 
God keep you heroes to the end, and patriots to the core. 
And if you fall, your sepulchre shall be within our breasts, 
Deep in our very heart of hearts each patriot martyr rests. 

Not all God's martyrs die by fire or fall by blades of steel. 

Not all are tortured at the stake or racked upon the wheel, 

But some lie patient in the camp and calmly wait for death, 

While wasting fever binds their limbs, and steals away their breath. 

These are God's martyrs blest — the heroes of the camp, 

And the great captain on their brows the title proud will stamp, 

John Milton Scwall,* if thy soul above us hovers near, 

Come down receive the blessing of thy friends and kindred here. 

All no, we cannot summon from his throne of high renown 

That hero whom the Lord of hosts has honored with a crown. 

The soldier is promoted now. Let no one call him dead. 

" Thou faithful soldier, come up higher," the great commander said. 

The battle fought, the victory won, among the shining throng 

He waves the palm of victory, and sings the victor's song. 

We must not weep. Shall tears be shed when God exalts the brave ? 

Let not the gloomy cypress mark our fallen brother's grave ; 

But o'er his dust, an emblem just, let the proud laurel wave. 

Fondly we love our dear old town. We cherish well its fame. 
We love its heroes, and adore each patriot martyr's name. 

* JoHX Milton Sewall was born in Sumner, (Oxford County,) Maine, 
September 10, 1828. He came to Abington to reside in 1846. Although in 
feeble health, he did not hesitate to respond to the call of his country, and 
in September, 18G1, he enlisted in Co. E, 23d Regiment Mass. Vol., in which 
company lie was a corporal. He was at the battle of Newbern, N. C, and 
soon after, while on picket duty, caught a violent cold, which produced 
fever, and resulted in his death at the hospital two weeks afterwards. His, 
was the first death that had then occurred among the large number of 
volunteers which Abington had sent to the war. His remains were brought 
home, and are deposited in a lot of his own selection, in "Mount Vernon 
Cemetery." 



02 AHIXGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 

l>ul iiinrc \VL' love our tailicr-lmid ; ii^ urlfai-c is our care; 
]ts iiiaiiy l)lessings we, will pi-izc. and all its jjerils share. 
Tlii'ii tin- its future, let us join in one united [u-ayer. 

O C()luml)ia, strong and fearless, 

Draw the sword and wicdd the pen. 
Live forever free and peerless, 

Blessed of God — ^beloved of men ! 
Be thy history a presage 

Of the Savior's promised reign, 
Publishing the kindly message, 

Peace on earth, good will to men. 

O thou God of our salvation. 
All our hopes are in thy hand ; 

Make us thine, a chosen nation — 
Make us thine, Immanuel's land. 

Make us true in thought and I'ecling, 

Just, unmindful where or \then, 
Conscience, honor, truth appealing. 

Let the people shout " amea ! " 
Make us love the meek and lowly. 

Cherish the oppressed and poor, 
Shielding in our arms the holy. 

Frowning on the evil-doer. 

When Injustice rules the hour. 

And Integrity is scoifed, — 
When enthroned in place and power 

Wz-ong shall rear its head aloft, — 
Fired by heaven-born inspiration, 

May our millions rise like men. 
And with righteous indignation 

Ilurl it to the dust airain ! 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. G3 

When the voice of Gotl from heaven 

Summons patriots to arms, 
Let no soul prove false or craven, 

Farewell cowardly alarms ! 
When the leaden tempest rattles. 

And the trump of war is pealed, 
Lord of hosts, and God of battles. 

Lead our armies to the field ! 

Let success attend our banner. 

Write thy name on every fold ! 
Still maintain its sacred honor, 

Still preserve its stars of gold ! 
While through ages yet unending 

History writes the deeds of men, 
Give us dignity, transcending 

Patriot's hope or prophet's ken ! 

And when Time its march has finished 

And its mighty cycles cease. 
Still with honor undiminished, 

May our nation's end be Peace. 
When archangel trumpet pealing 

Sounds the knell of hoary time, 
May it bring the full revealing 

Of an heritage sublime ! 

Hark ! a voice with welcome grateful 

Speaks from out the riven skies : 
" Well done, children, good and faithful. 

Fold your banners and arise ! " 
Then while anthem and hosanna 

Shake high heaven with chorus grand, 
Farewell then, Columbia's banner. 

Welcome then the better land ! 



64 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

O thou God of our salvation, 
All our hope is in thy hand ; 

Make us thine, a chosen nation — 
Make us tliine, linnianuers kind I 



The " Star Spangled Banner " was then sinig by 
Mrs. Emily J. Reed, of South WejTnoiith, who kindly 
volunteered for the occasion. 



4. Our Fellow Townsman, Hon. Benjamin Ilohart. — Vcncral)le for liis 
years, anil respected by all for the deep interest which he has taken for so 
long a period in the afl'airs of tliis, his native town. 

To this sentiment Mr. Hobart responded as follows: 

Mr. President^ Ladies and Gentlemen : — 

I regret, Sir, it has fallen to my lot to address this large 
audience, after so many able addresses. The room is too 
large for my voice. However, being so highly complimented 
by the President, I will make a few remarks. He speaks of 
my patriotism. If I have any thing to boast of, it is that for 
three years past I have been writing Reminiscences of past 
times in Abington. The different numbers amount to 
twenty-four, published in the " Abington Standard." I 
expect to conclude the series at thirty. I have endeavored 
not to take an outside view of the progress of affairs in this 
town, but more to describe the manners, customs and modes 
of thinking and acting. Such a treatise, if well done, will be 
of great use. I have already received a great many compli- 
ments from inhabitants who have left the town and settled 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 65 

ill other parts, saying, " it brings to their minds scenes that 
have passed away and gone." I have been rather invited to 
this work from the circumstance that my father (the late 
CoL Aaron Hobart) and myself have been voters in this town 
separately over one hundred years, (105,) and conjointly five 
years. I have, therefore, probably had more means of 
information and observation than any other person now 
living. I am surprised at the want of information of past 
times among the young of the present generation. Our 
young men and young women are very little acquainted with 
the circumstances of our fathers and ancestors. 

The Reminiscences, I find, are to many new. I have 
endeavored to be impartial, and state things as they are. I 
have applied to the several churches in town for a history of 
their respective societies. There are nine in town. Eight 
have responded, and given their history in their own lan- 
guage. I have intended to take up every subject connected 
with the history of the town ; the schools, the manufactories, 
tfec. There are one or two circumstances that I will allude 
to. One single truth, one single result, may mark a great 
many others. The population of this town in 1726 was 371. 
From that time to 1790 the increase was about one thousand, 
not exceeding seventeen a year. From 1790 to 1830 the 
increase was very small — in forty years only 970, twenty-four 
yearly. In 1830 tliere was a great change ; from 1830 to 
1840 the increase was 721. From 1840 to 1850 it was sur- 
prising, being in ten years 2,150. From 1850 to 1800 it was 
more so, being 3,334. Other things went on hi like propor- 
tion. The valuation of the town went on in that ratio. The 
increase of the last ten years was more than the whole popu- 
lation of any one town in the county of Plymouth except 
four — North Bridgewater, Hingham, Bridgewater, and Fly- 
9 



66 ABIN'GTON SE.Mr-CENTENXIAL CELEBRATION. 

month. The reason of this surprising change, which began 
in 1830, was owing to the introduction of the shoe busi- 
ness. At that time tlie shoe manufacturing interest was 
computed at $30,000 annually. In 1800, it was estimated 
to amount to nearly three millions. Another circumstance 
gave great addition to our j)opulation — the l)uilding of the 
New Bedford turnpike ; the railroad was a great item. 

One thousand or fifteen hundred foreigners came into 
town when the railroad was Ituilding. The shoe business 
also brought a great emigration from other towns to this 
town. 

My Reminiscences are brought up to 1860. That was the 
zenith, the highest point of population and improvements. 
Since then some reverses have taken place ; but I would 
here state that the town has expended over $30,000 to l)uild 
their school-houses. More than $200,000 to make their 
roads. These dwelling-houses are numerous and good. The 
population is here ; the industry is here ; what hinders us 
from going ahead again as soon as this wicked civil war is 
blown over ? There is no need of being discouraged. I will 
not, however, trespass further, but only make this remark : 
if the history of the doings of this day, Avhich probably will be 
recorded, and the Reminiscences of past events, of Avhich I 
have spoken, be well finished, (and it is. proposed they be 
published,) fifty years hence the })roceedings of this day and 
the Reminiscences which I have had the pleasure to write 
unassisted, will be of great interest and use. Thousands 
will look back and trace out their ancestors, saying — " That 
was my grandfather, and that was my father," learning 
their origin from many of those named here to-day, and in 
my Reminiscences, which will uniuunt to more than one 
thousand. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 67 

I have handed the President a sentiment on this occasion, 
tlie object of which is to procUiim the situation of this town, 
the great advance made in popidation, etc., in the ten years, 
up to 18(30. 



The Town of Ahington. — Its population, valuation and industry, is greater 
than that of any other town in the county of Plymouth, and stands, in point 
of population, exclusive of cities, the sixth town in the State. 



5. The Early Ministers of the Town. — We hold their memories in grate- 
ful remembrance. 

Responded to by the Pastor of the oldest Society iii 
x\bington, Rev. F. E,. Abbe, who spoke as follows : — 

After the beautiful and eloquent eulogies, to which you 
have already listened, upon those early ministers of Abing- 
ton, Brown, Dodge, Niles, it is almost presumption in me to 
weary you with farther remarks. 

It is a great privilege to live early in history, to do the 
greatest good, and a great privilege to live late, to receive 
the greatest benefit. It was a privilege for those men to 
live when they did, as it is a privilege for us to live in a 
town whose early ministry was such a ministry. They were 
happy in living at the best time for moulding society, when 
the character of the town was in process of formation. And 
they stamped their impress, deep, strong and abiding. The 
New England character has its deepest, broadest foundation 
in religion. It was for this that our fathers crossed the 
waters, and established this Christian empire, founded not 
so much on learning as on moral and religious principle. 
It is this which, above all, has given us our triumpli as a 



68 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

nation. It is this wliicli, above all, has given us so rich and 
beneficent an influence in tlie -woild. It is this, first and 
foremost, which is now leading our liruvc troops to victory 
over tyranny, ignorance and irrcligion. The God of nations 
was the God of our fathers. 

The principles of religion and morals those early ministers 
wrought firmly and well into the character of our town ; 
and to them chi(;fly, under God, must be ascribed the emi- 
nence of this community, for so many years, in all moral 
reform. They were men who feared God, and so did not 
fear to grapple with error and wrong. What they touched, 
they touched strongly, for they believed in this wisdom — 

" Gently, softly touch a nettle, 

And it stings you for your pains ; 
Grasp it, like a man of mettle, 
And it soft as silk remains." 

And so, doubtless, were they living at the present day, they 
would fearlessly grapple with the great questions which 
agitate our country, and would not hesitate even to throw 
a bomb into " the magazine," if by it they could blow up 
the foundations of this slavish oligarchy, this abominable 
tyranny, which is threatening the fair fabric of our govern- 
ment, and, through it, the interests of all mankind. 

They were strong in their religious princiijlcs, and strict 
in their morality, as far as they were enlightened; but they 
had not the measure of light which we enjoy. They doubt- 
less took an occasional glass ; and one of them certainly was 
a slave-owner, and, for aught T know, upheld the system on 
principle. And in this connection, with the great subject 
of St. Crispin before us, I will relate an anecdote of a slave 
of Mr. Brown. This slave was accustomed to wear out 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 69 

his shoes rather faster than his master thought economical. 
So he was provided with a pair with iron soles. These, the 
black man, with the genteel notions of his race, thought were 
not quite according to the fashionable style. So, in apparent 
thankfulness, he conclnded to hold a jubilee on a rock back 
of the house, and dance away the hours. And as the hours 
wore away, his shoes wore away, till in the morning he came 
in triumph with the remnants of his iron shoes, worn out 
in fair use, as happy, iindoubtcdly, as any other slave who 
gets a victory over his master by wearing out his shoes in 
running across Mason and Dixon's line. 

Those early ministers were fortunate, too, in the wide influ- 
ence which they exerted in all parts of the town, and which 
they used so well. Happy is the man who, as President of 
the United States, wields an influence in every part of tliis 
great land, if he wields it for good. It is a great privilege 
to be Governor of this Commonwealth, and have power in 
every place, in time of danger, to save the republic. But is 
not religion more than temporal prosperity ? Happy, indeed, 
then, are they who have a wide and permanent religious 
influence. The whole population came up, from the north 
and the south, from the east and the west, to hear the 
truth from those early ministers ; and their influence was 
felt, and is felt to this day, in all parts of this beautiful 
town. But now we are divided into religious families, — 
families under one roof, but still separate. In a certain 
sense, we are like the man who had one doctor in the morn- 
ing, another at noon, and another at night, hoping among 
them all to get cured of his disease ; or like the old lady, 
who took five or six doses of medicine at once, thinking that 
among so many some one might hit. We have not that 
unanimity of sentiment which pervaded the town in former 



70 AP.INGTON SEMI-CENTENXIAL CELEHKATION. 

days ; and consequently, otlier things equal, the same influ- 
ence is not possible for the present ministry. This is the 
result of growth, as well as of change of views ; and, on the 
whole, is not to Ijc regretted. " The past is past," as the 
Governor has said ; " the future only is ours." "We are to 
look to the past for wisdom, not for regrets. God rules, and 
orders all things well. We have the present, and may use 
the present as a foundation on which to build a glorious 
I'll t lire. 

There are those here to-day who sat under tlic ministry of 
at least one of those great and good men. Let them perpet- 
uate the influence which has been of so much benefit to 
them. Let us all think more of those fathers of Abington. 
Let us honor them with our lips, with monuments, and in 
our lives. And God grant that wc may all at last sit down 
with them in heaven, and rejoice with tlicm for ever and 
ever. 



The following Hymn, written for the occasion by 
llev. II. D. Walker, was then sung to the tune of 
" Auld Lang Sjne : " — 

We've met as ne'er before we met, 

Our thoughts on days of old ; 
Here owning blessings God has given, 
And asking grace to liold. 

So here Ave come, as brethren all, 
And hail as children dear, 
Of Abington, our Mother town, 
The lliuidivd Fitlietli year. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 71 

To generations passed before, 
So wise to guard and gain 
For us this goodly heritage, 
We raise our grateful strain. 

We come to bless their honored names, 
Who feared no toil or ill, 
To feel as ne'er before we felt, 
" Their works shall praise them still." 

And now God's blessing on the Land 

They loved and served of old ; 
Peace, Freedom, Righteousness, secure 
For it the Age of Gold. 

And may this year, oitr Jubilee, 
Be one through all our coasts ; 
The gratitude of men made free 
Reward our war-worn hosts. 

So when our children thus shall meet, 

Then will no anxious fears 
For Husbands, Brothers, Sons in arms. 
Unseal the fount of tears. 

And ere we part, as brethren all, 
We pledge our Mother dear, 
To guard and swell her old renown, 
'Till her Two Hundredth year. 



6. The Common Schools of New England. — The rich legacy of our 
fathers to us. Strong defence of free institutions, the hope and security 
of the future ; may a generous policy in the maintenance of their interests 
ever honor the wisdom in which they had their origin. 

Rev. Horace D. Walker, the Chairman of the 
School Committee, in response to this sentiment, said : 



1'2 ABINOTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

1 question, Mr, rrcsidcnt, your calling ujton the only 
member of the School Committee who is not a native, to 
answer in lirhall" of llic schools of Al)iiig'ton, But I notice 
that you have made the sentiment somewhat broader than 
for the single town — you emln-ace " the Commonwealth." 

And yet, if only the schools of the town were mentioned, 
I am not sure but we adopted citizens have, upon the whole, 
the best right here. As I look around upon this great 
assemblage, I suppose that many, perhaps the majority, while 
listening to the Oration and Poem from those whose birth- 
place was here, have prided themselves upon being natives 
of Abington. But you had no choice in that matter, I take 
it ! You had to l^c Ijorn here ! while we who have come in, 
and thus become citizens of the town, had a choice in so 
doing. We are here by our own volition, not as t/ou are 
here, having been dragged in by the ears. We are here, not 
as Jeff. Davis gets recruits, by conscription, but as volun- 
teers ; and our Governor and the President tell us the vol- 
unteer army is assuredly the best. We are more natives 
than those born here. Our Governor is more a native of 
IMassachusetts because born in Maine. So, Mr. President, 
on the whole, I take it I have a right to speak for the schools 
of the town. 

In the Oration this morning, and still more, with sucli 
exuberant play upon words in the Poem of this afternoon, a 
great deal has been said about the understandings and the 
soles of men. I have sometimes thought, Mr. President, 
that the rebels reckoned without their host when stealing 
our shoes. True, we have shod their armies; but shoes 
nia(l(! here on Abington lasts have in thoni tlie very instinct 
of right and liberty — they cannot bear u]) and onward for the 
wrong and against the right, those standing in them. And 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 73 

I think when we consider what has underlaid these rebel 
forces, we can understand how a New York Cicero, speaking 
of these modern Catalines, so improved upon the old Roman 
orator. Following the track of the flying chivalry from Bowl- 
ing Green, Columbus, Island No. 10, Nashville, Corinth, and 
all places they leave, hastening to find that "last ditch," he 
said, " abiit, evasit, crumpet, skedaddled The ancient Cicero 
would not recognize the last word ; it has become classic 
with us. The rebels stand in our shoes, not just in the 
sense they expected ; shoes that will bear them where other 
shoes and shoemakers will drive them, because of the deep- 
rooted principles of right and justice in the hearts of our 
people, springing from that religious faith so earnestly 
implanted by our fathers, and from that knowledge which 
they were just as earnest in cultivating through our public 
schools. 

Our own AVhittier has said that our noble Commonwealth 

" Ne'er heeds the sceptic's puny hands 
While near her school the church-tower stands, 
Nor fears the bigot's blinded rule 
While near the church-tower stands the school." 

We have the church-spire and we have the school, and are 
here on this One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the 
incorporation of this town to look forward to the Two Hun- 
dredth. As our Governor has just told us, " the Past we 
have not, the Present we cannot call ours, it is gone while 
we grasp it, the Future only is really ours." 

It is so. And if the future is ours any where, and to be 
secured through any means, it is in and through the schools. 
Tliere is our future. Our Governor has just been addressing 

10 



74 AlilXGTOX SKMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

the iiK-'ii of 18G2. I hope lie ^\■ill come here ere long and 
address the men of 1882, yea of 1012 ! Let liim come here 
one of tliese days, and wc will show him these " coming 
men," our children, — wiien they shall not be so thrust into 
the background, and their voice of Avelcomo will l»e hciud 
in its fulness. 

In these schools is our hope or our fear. We know how 
it fared with our armies at Shiloh and at Fair (_)aks. At 
first the enemy had it all tlieir own way ; Init l)y an<l l)y 
came up the reserve, and then the victory was ours. Our 
grand reserve or our ruin stands back of us one generation. 
If our children are true, that future is safely and fully ours. 

" The child is father of the man." AVhat sort of men 
will be fifty years hence on this spot, commemorating this 
day, depends, under God, upon what we are doing now for 
the children. May the principle in this sentiment actuate 
us everywhere and always, securing wise and generous pro- 
visions for our schools. In them may our children be 
grounded not merely in the sciences fitting them for the 
business of life, but in those principles on which our fathers 
built so firmly and so well that to-day we are met here to 
rejoice in the present results of them, and in the hope, the 
anticipation of their final triumph and full glory. 



7. The Press.— ^cxt to the Conunon .School, the most eflc'ctivo afiency in 
tlio Echiciition of the People. 

Charles F. Dunbar, Esq., of the "Boston Daily 
Advertiser," a native of the toAMi, being called upon, 
spoke as follows : — 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 75 

Mr. Chairman and Friends : — 

Tho present is a time, as you know, when those of my 
pursuit are pretty fully occupied ; for the country is making 
history very fast now, and some of us delude ourselves by 
trying to write it. And so when an old friend invited me to 
be present to-day, I could only say to him as the man said to 
his minister, when urged to come to meeting, " I will either 
come — or send a hand." 

But who could be absent from his native town, on a day 
like this, when the town puts on its holiday dress ; or "who 
could refuse to revisit this beautiful spot, endeared by pleasant 
memories of the past, and now the scene of a commemora- 
tion, the associations of which carry us back for almost two 
centuries of honorable history ? I own that I am proud to 
be a native of Abington. The gentleman who has just 
spoken cast it in the teeth of us natives, that we had no 
choice in the matter ! For my part I am glad that it was 
so, for had it been left to me at that early age, I might not 
have chosen so well. 

It is a little embarrassing to be called upon to speak for 
the press of the country. The press is accustomed to address 
the public in another manner. And besides, just at this 
moment, except the rebels, the worst-abused men in the 
country are the editors, — and while in the one case this is 
all deserved, in the other it is not. Perhaps I may say for 
the journalists of the United States, that we were all much 
relieved the other day, when that new and remarkable mem- 
ber of the profession, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, gave his 
assurance that the newspapers didn't lie any worse than any 
body else ! You will permit me to say here, that for the 
short-comings of the press the public is in a measure respon- 



<•) AlilNGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

siblc. Such is the frailty of human nature, tliat where there 
is a demand, tiicre will be a supply ; at tliis time of fcverisli 
excitcmcut the people loill have what they want, and there 
will ho found men who will furnish it, at whatever expense 
of conscience. And there is another poiut in which the 
responsibility of the public is greater than it realizes, and in 
a more important matter,— I mean as regards the expression 
of opinion. Every man has his own opinion now, which is 
different from that of every other man, and which he expects 
to see reproduced in the public prints. The press is expected 
to form its views fairly, to express them openly, and to be 
just and complimentary at the same time ; and in this way a 
tyranny is often exercised by public opinion, which is more 
threatening in the long run to the real liberty of the press, 
than any mere temporary suppression of news, as a military 
necessity, l)y the public authorities. 

But this is all foreign to the purpose of the day. In 
earlier years,— not so very long ago,— I gave some attention 
to the history of the town. I had a personal interest in it, 
for the earliest settler, Andrew Ford, was my ancestor. I 
always noted it for a significant fact that the early inhabitants 
built their meeting-house before they got their Act of incor- 
poration. They went to work on the good old Puritan plan, 
the plan of the Old Colony, in which we stand, bringing the 
Ijcst of influences to bear in forming their history. They 
were austere in life, but they practiced the virtues of auster- 
ity. Their lives were quiet and retired, but laborious, thrifty 
and honorable. They labored slowly, silently and patiently, 
to lay deep the foundation of the New England character, 
wliich carried the country safely through one revolution, and 
the influence of which is now carrying us safely through 
another. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 77 

In those old wars, Abington always bore its part well. I 
suppose there are few here of Abington blood, who cannot 
count some relation in the old French war or in the Revolu- 
tion ; many of these families mourned after the massacre a 
century ago at Fort William Henry. And in this war the 
town bears its part well too. It was my fortune, just a year 
ago, to enter the camp of a Union regiment at Newport 
News, on the James River, and there I was proud to recog- 
nize and enter the tents of an Abington company. They 
were there upon no holiday excursion, and were enduring 
privations such as we at home were far from realizing. But 
they bore every thing with little complaint, — recalling with 
pride the fact, that the Fourth Massachusetts was one of 
the two regiments from this State which saved Fortress 
Monroe, — the great strategic movement which made the 
capital secure, and was the turning point in saving our 
country. The war will end prosperously, and the work of 
these men may be forgotten amid more brilliant achieve- 
ments. In that they will be like their predecessors upon 
this soil. The generation of those men, too, has passed 
away, and their memory, their names even, are cherished 
but by few. But their work was of too solid character and 
too well done to pass away ; and the fruits of their labor we 
witness and enjoy to-day. 



8. The Clergy. — To the Clergy of New England we owe a debt of grati- 
tude for their faithful adherence, in times of trial and despondency, to the 
great principles of "Freedom, Truth, and Right." 

Rev. Isaac C. White, of Pl}Tnouth, spoke in response 
to this sentiment, as follows : — 



78 ABINGTON SKMI-CKNTENNIAL CKLEBRATION. 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: — 

1 liiid intended if 1 spoke at all, U) sjjeak one word in 
beliair of the early clergymen of this ancient town. The 
necessity for this has been superseded by the timely and 
eloquent remarks of the Pastor of the First Church. 

That our country owes a debt of gratitude to the clergy 
of New England, for their faithful adherence to the great 
principles of Freedom, Truth, and Right, in times of trial 
and despondency, will be (picstioned by no intelligent, think- 
ing mind. 

The great ol)ject which the clergyman has in view, is to 
mould society into the form and features of moral excellence 
and beauty. As the sculptor chisels out of the rude block 
of marble the form and features of artistic beauty, so he, 
with the great princi})les of divine truth fashions society into 
the form and features of moral beauty, and in doing this he 
contributes largely to the highest well-being of the country. 

In all times of national trial the clergymen of New Eng- 
land have been true to the princijiles of Freedom, Truth, 
and Right ; and now that the clouds of civil Avar, black and 
portentous, hang over us, they will stand by the Govern- 
ment until rebellion is so thoroughly crushed that it will 
never again lift its satanic head or wag its forked tongue. 

It affords me great pleasure to take })art in these festive 
services, to unite with you in celebrating the one hundred 
and fiftieth birthday of this ancient town. I love my native 
town, her familiar rocks and hills, the graceful elms which 
grow out of her bosom and adorn and shade her streets and 
walks. 1 love this beautiful grove, her jilay-ground, llie 
play-ground of her sister towns, and of yonder j)o])ulinis city. 
1 love her resting-places of the dead, where sleeps the precious 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 79 

dust of the honored and endeared. I love her temperance 
organizations, promoting sobriety, and her mihtary organiza- 
tions, through which she expresses her patriotism in times of 
trial. I love the old inconvenient town-house, the capitol 
of this little rei)ublic, the scene of many a sharp and well- 
contested debate. I love her schools, the nurseries of learn- 
ing so liberally and tenderly nourished, and her neat and 
commodious sanctuaries, the nurseries of piety. I love her 
large manufactories and little shops, her elegant and costly 
mansions, and her convenient cottages, the abodes of domestic 
happiness. I love my native town, the north, the south, the 
east, the west, and the centre. 

I honor her for the noble stand which she has always 
taken in the cause of human freedom, and for the patriotism 
which has rallied so many of her sons to uphold and defend 
our Union — the best government on the face of the earth. 
Rebellion has laid its treacherous hand upon our manufacto- 
ries and stopped their profitable working, but when the last 
dying groan is wrung from that hideous monster to which 
slavery has given birth, these manufactories will again be 
worked to their utmost capacity, and wealth and prosperity 
will again flow into these dwellings. And when the stars 
and stripes shall float proudly, majestically, and undisturbed 
over every part of our territory, and the sun in all his course 
looks down upon not a single slave, Abington, keeping pace 
with the American Republic in prosperity, will march on 
triumphantly to that perfect state of society towards which 
the clergymen of New England are leading the country. 



9. The Orator of the Day. 

Rev. E. Porter Dyer being called upon by the 
President, said : — 



80 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

Mr. President : — 

This call seems plainly to imply that my morning remarks 
were not entirely satisfactory — probably because I failed to 
notice more particularly the Mothers of Abington, to whom 
for the bravery of her sons and the prosperity of the town 
we owe so much. To one of them I acknowledge my indebt- 
edness for the blessing of kind, faithful parental instruction 
in my early years. But why is no more credit given to the 
female part of the community ? It is true we find in your 
ancient records that a place was left for them in the north 
part of the meeting-house ; but why is no more said of them ? 
Because, before factories were set in motion, our mothers 
were inured to toil and shared in the burdens of labor. 
They were found with " the spinning-wheel, the distaff and 
the loom." They manufactured thread, they wove tow 
cloth, they made the garments worn then. And when my 
grandfathers, who lived in this town in those days, died, 
(and if you will pardon me, they both remained here just as 
long as they possibly could, each being the last man of his 
generation and the oldest male citizen in town at his death,) 
one of them left for each of his three daughters as an heir- 
loom an ancient, domestic loom, to be transmitted to their 
children, as a memorial of the past, to remind them, when 
they should sit down to tlio music of the piano or guitar, of 
the trials and liardships of the mothers who liad gone before 
them. 

When the mothers of those days retiirned from meeting 
on the Sabbath, they took home with them the salutary 
lessons of the sanctuary, and employed the remaining hours 
of holy time in im])rcssing on the tender minds of their 
children that " fear of the Lord whicli is \\u- beginning of 
wisdom." 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 81 

Here is one secret of the influence of Father Niles — an 
influence which remains in this town to this day. The 
mothers taught by his ministry were faithful mothers in 
these matters, and hence, as they grew up, their daughters 
always seemed to me in my younger years very courteous, 
very lovely, and of modest and excellent deportment ; and 
they will bear me witness that in the days when I lived here 
and attended the public school with them, our mothers 
always " knew when we were out." Let us leave our 
tribute of filial gratitude to-day in our testimony to the 
faithfulness of our mothers. 

Mr. President, I have been delighted with the exercises 
and associations of this day. I do not expect to meet you 
again on an occasion such as this. As I was leaving home 
this morning my son took occasion to suggest that if my 
discourse was not satisfactory to the President, I might say 
to him that when the next celebration of this kind occurs 
he may get somebody else. 

But the hours of this day are passing, and soon all these 
scenes and services will be ended. The wheels of time roll 
on, and who shall stand in our places a hundred and fifty 
years hence to review the history of God's dealings with the 
inhabitants of this town during that lengthened period ? 
With what interest might we contemplate to-day, were time 
allowed us, the progress of the world and the wonderful 
improvements constantly taking place in every department 
of knowledge and art, but I forbear. 

I have often heard my now departed grandfather say that 
one of the citizens of this town in earlier days — (and this 
circumstance may have contributed to give me a slight fond- 
ness for the muse) — was a good deal given to rhyming 
extemporaneously, and was always ready when any one 
11 



82 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

would " treat him," to give a poetic elTusion in return. I 
reni('nil)er hearing him repeat, among other specimens, one 
Avliich may serve to sliow ])y contrast how the poetic spirit 
ol" this town has progressed. 

It may he premised, however, that it was formerly the 
custom of the people of this town to yoke their hogs and 
suffer them to run at large. At town meeting they chose 
certain officers called " hog-reeves," to look after the hogs. 
Men were fond of office then — gone out of fashion, I suppose, 
now — and when the people wished to show tlicir appreciation 
of a certain kind of talent in a man, they chose that man 
hog-reeve — especially was this distinction wont to be conferred 
on newly married men. On one occasion the election of a 
certain man to this office excited the poet's ire. He deemed 
the incumbent unworthy to be elected to such an elevated 
office by the suffrages of an intelligent people, and gave vent 
to his ))itterness of spirit by the following poetic touch : — 

" It does seem strange 
To my poor brains, 
That people arc posscss'd, 

For them to vote, 

To choose one sliote, 
To govern all tlie rest." 

This was expressive and off-hand. Other illustrations of 
the poet's ready rhyming wit might be given, but I will not 
now longer detain you. At the next celebration of this 
kind I will relate all I can remember — if I am here. I hope 
the audience will pardon me for trespassing so long on their 
patience. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 83 

10. Masonry. — "Which Washington recommended to the American 
people, which Burns sung, and the wisest of all times have loved, "still 
rising b}' the plummet's law," will produce good square work. 

AYiLLiAM D. CooLiDGE, Esq., of Newton, Grand Master 
of Masons in Massachusetts, responded as follows : — 

Mr. President: — 

So many of my brethren being present, I came very near 
saying " Worshipful Master," but pardon me, Sir, let me 
amend that, and say, brethren and sisters, — for I believe you 
have been addressed by every other title but that to-day. 
We have come from far and near to mingle our warmest 
sympathies together, and to kindle anew the hearts of those 
who belong to this good old town, that the faces of early 
loved ones, the memories of the past, the kindly greetings, 
the joyful emotions of this day, may all be concentrated 
in this hour ; and I feel that it is good to be here. 
In the sentiment you have just proposed, you have 
touched the key-note of every American heart, the name of 
Washington. We glory in him as our patron and our friend ; 
more than that — our brother. He who knew so well what 
was in men's hearts, and how deeply and how strongly tliey 
can be moved by persuasion, love and affection. You have 
spoken of that child of song, Robert Burns, another of our 
brothers who has touched our hearts so gently and so sweetly, 
and whose name we arc always glad to mention. My heart 
has been so filled with the influences of this occasion, by the 
words of eloquence and poetry, of music and song, that I am 
sure not much should be expected from me. Our honored 
Governor moved our hearts in that noble sentiment, " honor 
to the brave and honest heart ; " and I thought as I listened 
to the clarion notes of the Orator of the Day, as he portrayed 



84 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

the rising prusj^cnty of the i)eople ol" this town, the honest 
sturdy licart wliich is here so manifest, tliut if I were to say 
a word to my vcneraljle friend hi.-re wh(j is writing its history, 
if he is seeking for the reason of her great prosperity, let 
liim seek it in that deep and ahiding trust in God which 
animates your hearts, and has animated the hearts of those 
who liave gone before you. In that indomitable energy, 
industry and perseverance, wliicli united with the cajiital 
of yonder city has ])roduced, and will again confirm and 
renew the prosperity you have formerly enjoyed. Trust 
in God, my friends, that as He is a God of truth, so He 
will surely vindicate himself, and bring about again the 
haj)j)y day when we may take l)y the hand all good American 
citizens, and prosperity and happiness again be your lot. 

In these stirring times there are manly elements of char- 
acter which are to be developed, and I trust that no one will 
regret after these evil days are passed, the opportunity which 
we now liave to develop the lofty virtues of self-sacrifice, 
valor, love of country, devotion to right, indomitable 
courage, and the love of all that is true, noble and 
manly. 

Our eyes are now turned to the tottering capital of rebel- 
lion, and our ])rayers are united that this war may soon be 
ended. I believe it will be. I believe that returning 
prosperity will soon be with us. Continue to cultivate 
those glorious elements of character wliich the Orator 
of the Day has illustrated. Be worthy of such sires. 

Mr. President, let me close with words familiar to many 
of my lirethren present — 



The Good People of Ahington. — May their Corn, and Wine, and Oil 
abound, and health, plenty and peace he tlie lot of every citizen of this 
ancient tovn. 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 85 

11. Our Temperance Organizations. — Institutions of practical benevo- 
lence and moral power, rescuing the fallen, and giving strength to the 
weak and tempted, their influence is felt in the homes of all our communi- 
ties ; may they pursue their mission loyal to the glorious watchwords 
emblazoned on their banners, till the liquid poison from the Still and the 
Vat shall cease their destroying work, and total abstinence from that wliich 
intoxicates be the habit of all our people. 

Responded to by Hev. Joseph Crehore. 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : — 

It is a pleasure to speak to a sentiment in lionor of organi- 
zations holding so important a position among the social and 
moral interests of the town, with so vital a bearing upon its 
welfare, and having in their membership so many of the 
people, both male and female, as those to which you have 
referred. 

The Temperance enterprise is, I believe, a comparatively 
modern movement. It dates back for the beginning of its 
history only about fifty years. At a meeting of one of the 
ecclesiastical liodies of our State, known as the " General 
Association of Massachusetts," in the year 1811, the first 
public action with reference to it, of which we have account, 
was taken. A committee was appointed to prepare a consti- 
tution for a society, whose object should be, " To check the 
progress of intemperance," viewed by the association as a 
growing evil. That society came into existence and held its 
first meeting in the year 1813. At that time the annual 
consumption of spirits in this country was so great, that 
divided equally among all the families it would have averaged 
more than four and a half gallons to every man, woman and 
child. Put that by the side of the facts of to-day, and you 
will find a change has been wrought. 



8(J ABIN'GTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CKLKI'.RATIoN. 

The fatliers and motliers, men of heroic courage and holy 
purpose, and women of unconquerable energy and patience, 
wIkjui to-day we proudly and justly honor with our words of 
praise and memorial pageant, had few indeed of the noble 
institutions and moral enterprises which to-day exist, and send 
their happy ministries into and along all the pathway of our 
life. Their circumstances were not such as to demand or 
admit of these things. And yet we do well to remember that 
they had that out of which these all have come, — the Church 
and the Common School. These they honored and cherished, 
and through them sowed the seeds of great principles and 
holy truths, which finding root in the fresh soil of the new 
Continent, have grown and developed into all these shining 
blessings and guiding lights. 

They were not temperance men, as we reckon temperance 
men now, for the evil of intemperance had not taken on the 
magnitude and wrought the mischief that it has since. But 
they were men loyal to virtue and to every righteous 
endeavor for human iniprovcnicnt. They believed in law 
and the right of legislation, most devoutly, and I have some- 
times thought that some of the regulations in relation to 
drinks which intoxicate, which we find in the history of some 
of the towns, of a century ago, might have been of good 
service at a more recent date, even since the light of the 
temperance movement has been spreading over the world. 

Here for instance, is an item Avith which I recently met, 
which seemed to me not wholly inapropos to a subject just 
now claiming the attention of the people in our country — 
the National Tax. " It is voted that the price of \\. I. toddy 
shall Ijc 1() shillings a bowl, and New England Rum shall be 
12 shillings a bowl." This was afterwards reconsidered, we 
are told, and " it was voted that toddy should be 18 shillings 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 87 

a bowl when made with loaf sugar, and 16 shillings a bowl 
when made with brown sugar." Not much drinking of it in 
these days, I think, if that was the price. 

I alluded just now to the extent of the membership of the 
temperance organizations of the town. I believe the whole 
number belonging to the various societies, including that of 
the children, which certainly should not be overlooked, does 
not fall much, if any, under one thousand. Somewhat of an 
army that, and enlisted too, in one of the noblest causes that 
claims, or can claim the service of any people. And Sir, 
grand beyond conception is the work which has been and is 
still being wrought by these associations. All about us is the 
witness of their wortli, in the orderly and pleasant homes 
which greet our eyes, in the character and habits of the 
citizens, and tlie general thrift and health of the community. 
Ah, who can measure the extent of our indebtedness here ! 
Who can calculate the good that has come, not only to our 
town, but to our Commonwealth, and our country, through 
temperance organizations ! They have been a great moral 
power in our midst. And they are a power in the army of 
our country gathered from these homes all about us to fight 
anew the battles of liberty. The habits and health of that 
army, which put it in such noble contrast with all the other 
armies the world has known, are in no small measure the 
fruit of temperance principles here imbibed, strengthened 
and sustained amid the thousand temptations of the camp, 
by social ties and obligations here existing, and holding in 
unfaltering fidelity many an absent and dear brother. 

But enough. The great work is still in our hands. The 
Past, to which we to-day turn in congratulation and joy, is 
with us, with its memories and its lessons, a full fountain of 
instructive experience. The Present is here also, with its 



88 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CRLEBRATION. 

constantly multiplying oi)portunities and responsibilities. In 
the advance guard in the march of nations, in moral as well 
as material achievement, centuries before are beckoning, as 
the centuries behind are bidding us forward. Forward then, 
one and all, in the pathway of Love, Purity, and Fidelity, 
laboring heroically, manfully, and faithfully, according to 
the light and strength given us, in our day, as did the 
fathers in theirs. 



12. Our Volunteers. — We do not forget to-day those of our citizens 
who, in the hour of peril, and at the call of duty, went forth to fight the 
battles of our common country. May success crown their efforts to restore 
an honoraljle peace and i)ermanent quiet to our land. 

Rev. Henry L. Edwards responded as follows : — 

I rise with pleasure, ]Mr. President, to respond to the sen- 
timent. Since receiving your invitation last evening to say 
a word in behalf of our brave volunteers, I have anticipated 
the privilege with no little interest ; and if I had anticipated 
it longer, I surely would have said something more worthy 
of them, and this occasion. But even without a moment's 
notice I woidd neglect no opportunity to speak in praise of 
those patriotic men, through whose toils and sacrifices, «//e, 
sufferings, we are enabled to spend thus the houi-s of this 
passing day. 

Speech is poor. The best Avords of to-day arc dross com- 
pared with deeds of honor and heroism. The soldier first ; 
the highest civilian, holds but a second rank. Sir, I need 
not say, that I have great respect for the population of this 
town ; for the vast assembly tliat sit IteCorc mo ; for the 
music and the military that have handsomely escorted us 
liithcr. I greatly respect the honest and able government 



rROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 89 

of this Commonwealth, represented here in the welcome 
presence of her Chief Magistrate. I have indeed a certain 
measure of self-respect. But more than all, let me say, 
more than myself, more than any man on the ground, I 
esteem, just now, those fellow-citizens of ours who have gone 
forth from among us to defend their country, to defend State 
and Town, to defend our homes, and Groves, and ourselves. 
And when they return — (rod grant they may — I intend to 
concede as much, face to face. And I greatly long to see 
them again, that I may take them hy the hand, one by one, 
and assure them of my lasting gratitude and esteem. Would 
that this cruel conspiracy were already crushed, and the war 
were over, and these patriot-soldiers were here to-day, to 
speak for themselves, or, at least, to inspire respect by their 
bodily presence ; for, 

"Ours are no hirelings train'd to the fight, 
With cymbal and cUxrion glittering and bright ; 
O'er the proud heads of free vien our star-banner waves, 
Men firm as their mountains and still as their graves, — 
To-morrow shall pour out their life-blood like rain ; 
They come back in triumph, or come not again." 

All honor, I say, to these Abington braves. If Heaven 
has so ordained, and they shall be denied 

'" the death of those 
Who for their country die," 

as dearest love and friendship can but hope and pray, still 
let us not forget what they have done, and the hardships 
they have borne. I do not know, Mr. President, just what 
they are enduring now, on the Peninsula and along the 
Shenandoah — nobody can know without being there — but I 
have a vivid recollection, and I shall never forget a frosty 

12 



90 ABINGT<)N SHMI-CKNTENNIAL CKLEBRATKjN. 

experience, at Camp Briglitwood, of a. bleak Octoljcr night ; 
and from a little, I know that during a long winter-encamp- 
ment these soldier-friends suljmitted to hardships of which 
dwellers at home have little idea. ]>ut it is rather on this 
peaceful summer day, and amid these smiling scenes, and 
sounds of jubilee, that I have sought to imagine the contrast 
between our circumstances and theirs, as they bare their 
breasts before Richmond, in this Idoody rebellion, or, as with 
our own nol)lc, thrice-nolde Banks, they claml^er among the 
blue and blood-stained mountains of the Old Dominion. Ah ! 
yes, may God forgive me if I forget my brothers on the battle- 
field. If I forget them, let my right hand forget its cunning ; 
let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. 

Mr. President and fellow-citizens : It is most becoming, 
and appropriate, and important, that we associate these 
tlioughts of the soldier, with our reminiscences of that 
remote date when a certificate of incorporation was conferred 
upon the tlien sparse population of these so familiar pre- 
cincts. We see now why it was that so long ago as 1712, 
an honorable charter was granted to those few respectful, 
ancestral petitioners. "Was it for purposes of self-protection 
and government ? Yes. Was it to promote the prosperity 
of the people in this locality ? Certainly, yes. But it was 
for more. It was that there might be a townshi}) here, in 
common with sister townships elsewhere, in prei)aration for 
mUitary emergency ; like that of 1812 ; like that, more 
strikingly, which has risen in our own time, when institu- 
tions of state and nation are so endangered. I speak to 
some present, who know much better than I do, how much 
these town organizations have fiicilitated the organization of 
a large federal army. Who believes that our Governor, 
energetic as he is, could have assembled some thousands of 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER. 91 

men on Boston Common, armed and eqnipped, in a single 
day, or have put thirty regiments into the field in a single 
year, and tluit without one conscript^ had it not been for 
this system of independent municipalities — these little lim- 
ited sovereignties — these miniature republics, borough-towns, 
organized and consolidated under one grand State gov- 
ernment? I applaud, therefore, the wisdom of the men 
who originated this happy political framework. And as we 
remember, this day, with a reasonable pride, that not less 
than two hundred and fifty of our young and spirited towns- 
men have sprung, in the hour of their country's call, from 
their peaceful employments to the protection of the glorious 
stars and stripes, we will not be unmindful of the wisdom 
of the past which made this possible. But 1 may not enlarge. 
The shadows are lengthening. This semi-centennial day is 
drawing to a close, and those who were to the manor-born 
should have the time, before strangers and foreigners. And 
yet I thinlv I may say that no theme should more sacredly 
command your attention, than that of our brave and beloved 
volunteers. May God be with them and bless them, and 
bring them back, in body sound, Avith characters unblem- 
ished, and, in after years, may their children, and their chil- 
dren's children, rise up and call them blessed. 

" Each soldier's name 
Standing untarnish'd on the rolls of fame ; 
That name an example to each distant age, 
Adding new lustre to the historic page." 

Allow me, Mr. President, to add a sentiment, a little 
remote from my subject. The soldiers remind me of seces- 
sion. A word for Abington : — 

Union is Strength. — Let Abington ever be one and indissoluble. Though 
she may have many sin.s, and though West, and East, and North, and South, 
shall not always agree, may no section ever be guilty of secession. 



92 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

13. The Volunteer Militia. — The IJif^lit Arm of the country in its liour 

of pLTil. 

Response by Sergeant B. F. Peterson, Company E, 
(South Abington Infantry,) Fom-th Regiment ]\I. \. M. 

Mr. President : — 

Never was there a more trutlifiil sontimciit uttered tluui 
the one just announced, and yet it is one that the peoide of 
the present time have just begun to appreciate. Too long, 
by far, has tlie Volunteer Militia been neglected, disregarded 
and forgotten ; and what solemn warning our present difficul- 
ties present to us of the danger which was before us from 
the growing indifference to this great bulwark of our public 
liberties. The founders of this republic viewed with jealousy 
standing armies, as being incompatible with a free govern- 
ment, and so firmly and deeply was it fixed in their minds, 
that it passed into a maxim among them, that large standing 
armies in time of peace were dangerous to liberty ; and that 
maxim remains to this day in the bill of rights in many of 
our State constitutions. But notwithstanding their hostility 
to standing armies, no statesmen were more sensitive to their 
national honor, or more awake to the necessity of national 
defence. While they were hostile to standing armies, they 
were at the same time zealous to provide for the public 
safety ; they looked to the Volunteer Militia of the several 
States for the necessary protection against foreign invasion 
and domestic insurrections, and it stands to-day a part, 
though a forgotten part, of the Constitution of tlie United 
States, that "« ivell reg-idated militia is necessary to tlie 
security of a Free Slate. ^^ 

Such, Sir, was the high estimation with which the Volun- 
teer Militia were lield by tlie fathers of this republic ; and 
was that trust in vain ? Let subsequent history prove. 



i 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE DINNER, 93 

Who were those tliat in the darkest days that the country 
ever experienced since the Revolution, without a moment's 
notice, hastened to the defence of their country, left their 
work in the shops unfinished, bade adieu to friends and 
loved ones whom perhaps they might never see again on 
earth, and exchanged thus suddenly their happy homes and 
cheerful firesides for the field of conflict, and for aught they 
knew, the field of death ? It was the Volunteer Militia. 
What noble examples of patriotism. 

" Where duty called, there did their footsteps tend." 

Like Putnam, they left their plough in the unfinished furrow, 
and hastened to the camp. How well that duty was per- 
formed you know full well ; these were the men who saved 
the Federal capital from destruction, and stood like a bul- 
wark around it until the national army could be increased 
and strengthened by volunteers for the war. And had 
not Massachusetts had her Fourth Regiment of Volunteer 
Militia, of which Company E (the South Abington Infantry) 
is a component part, that world-renowned Fortress Monroe, 
the key to Virginia, with all the valuable lives it contained, 
and its millions of property, would this day be in the hands 
of the rebels. 

And while I would not be unmindful of the great service 
which the volunteers for the war from the various States 
have done, and are now doing for their country's honor and 
the defence of its flag, it must always be remembered that 
they are but pushing forward the work so gloriously begun 
by the Volunteer Militia. Let us, then, as a Nation and as 
a State, learn a lesson of wisdom from the past, and hold 
fast that which is good. 

What a debt of gratitude do the loyal people of this 
country owe and ever will owe, to the Volunteer Militia. 



1 



94 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

They have ])rovcd tlicmselvcs to be in deed and in truth 
faithrul to their country, the dcfciulcrs of its Uiws ; tlieir 
patriotism is unconditional ; their motto, the Union as it 
was. And while the Nation and the State sliould heed the 
lesson inculcated by past experience, and treasure it into 
good and honest hearts, I would not have you unmindful, 
fellow-citizens of my native town, of the lesson of duty you 
should learn from the past. Let former divisions and diffi- 
culties be forgotten, if need be, and this anniversary be the 
commencement of a new epoch in your history, when the 
Citizen Soldier shall receive that honor, respect and love 
which he so richly deserves, and I assure you that they 
will be found in the future, as they have abundantly proved 
themselves in the past, 

" Ever faithful, ever suix'." 



Volunteer sentiments : — 

1. The Thousands of Ahington — Dead. — Long may they live in tlie 
lingering traditions of their descendants ; sweet i^eace to their lialUnved 
dust. 

2. Ahington. — A good mother; she lias adopted many cliil(h-en ; and 
between these, and those born of her own body, slie knows no difference. 

3. Ahington. — The four piHars of her prosperity: Labor, Law, Educa- 
tion, and Ileligion. 



Concluding sentiment : — 

The Two ITundredth Anniversary of this Town. — "We charge those that 
survive to that date, and who are present to-day, to communicate our 
salutations and best wishes to all the people that shall participate in that 
celebration. 

The exercises of the day were then closed l)y music 
bv the ^^'cvmoutll 13and. 



LETTERS. 



[Fro)n Selh Ilobart White, Esq., of New York.] 

Delhi, N, Y., June 4, 18C2. 

Dear Sir, — Pressing engagements, entirely unforeseen, 
when I partially accepted your kind invitation to be present 
at the Abington Anniversary, will, I regret to say, prevent 
my being with you on that interesting occasion. 

Although several years have elapsed since my adoption of 
another State, still I can say, and I think with an honest 
pride, that I am proud of my native town, and could I have 
selected my own birthplace, it would have been in the 
ancient town of Abington. 

There is something inexpressibly fascinating about one's 
native place, especially after an absence of a series of years. 
Sculptors may carve, painters may color, and poets imagine, 
but when you come to see in reality the old gnarled oak, the 
towering pine, or the moss-covered pear tree o'erlooking the 
quiet brook, there is a reminiscence about them which no 
art can engender. It was under the shade of these trees, 
and on the banks of this brook, that our hop^s and fears first 
had their origin. There is a shady and a sunny side to these 
reminiscences, but they cannot fail to awaken within us the 
strongest sensibilities of our nature. "Who is tliere that 
cannot recollect, with the deepest interest, the loved ones 
of their youth, some of whom this day are occupying 
places of trust and distinction, and even fighting valiantly 
the battles of our common country, while others have 



96 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

gone to tlic Spirit-world. But I must not indulge further 
in these reminiscences, and you will please accept my warm- 
est thanks lor the kindly notice you have taken of me, 
and the dignified position you have given me to sjicak of the 
Judiciary. 

This branch of our government is so interwoven with the 
other two, namely the Legislative and Executive, that it 
would be as difficult to determine which of these powers 
performed the highest functions in a well-regulated govern- 
ment, as it would be to know in our safe passage on an 
ocean steamer, which conduced most to the object, the motive- 
power, the ship, or the rudder — as without the rudder the 
shi}) would be tossed to and fro, at tlie mercy of the elements, 
so with the ship of state without the Judiciary. She would 
be speedily swamped on the quicksands of anarchy ; hence 
it becomes an object of interesting inquiry, how can we best 
strengthen and render efficient this branch of our Govern- 
ment ? And it was to this inquiry that my thoughts were 
directed on the reception of j^our invitation, and I was 
cheered by the thought, that on the hallowed ground of 
New England, where the truest principles of civil and relig- 
ious liberty that ever had a being originated, was a most 
fitting spot to make such an inquiry ; and a fitter place still 
to answer it and say — " live just such lives, and die Just such 
deaths, as our forefathers did before W5." 

Allow me, in conclusion, to offer the following senti- 
ment : — 

Our Native Town. — A beautiful monument of the enterprise, intelligence, 
and virtue of its noble founders — let us preserve it in all its original purity 
and grandeur, and bcqueatli it to posterity unimiiaired, as a ricli legacy of 
enduring fame. 

Yours truly, Seth Hobart Wuite. 

Isaac IIersey, Esq., Committee of Corrcsjjondcnce. 



LETTERS. 97 

[From Rev. Josejjh Pettee.'] 

Abingtox, June G, 1862. 

To the Committee of Arrangements for the Celebration of the One Hundred 
and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Ahington : — 

Gentlemen, — Though duties elsewhere require me to be 
absent from Abington on the occasion of the celebration of 
the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation 
of the town, they do not preclude my accepting an invitation 
to contribute a sentiment. This I offer, accompanied by a 
few words of introduction. 

The last half century of the century and a half that has 
elapsed since the incorporation of this town, has been signal- 
ized by vast improvements, contributing to the material pros- 
perity of the community. Almost every day, in one place 
or another, have arisen inventions and discoveries which 
diminish greatly the burdens and labors of men, and, in an 
outward sense, add to their means of enjoyment. And not 
only have new modes of applying natural and mechanical 
laws and agencies to useful purposes been ascertained, but 
new fields of science have been explored, and new and 
more effective modes of communicating knowledge have 
been discovered, by which the intellectual stores of the 
public are greatly increased. In the advantages involved 
in the progress made in this direction, Abington has par- 
ticipated. 

Now, — it may not really be the case, — there is, however, 
a strong appearance that there has not been equally great 
progress in discoveries having a direct bearing upon the 
spiritual prosperity and happiness of men. Lightning has 
been brought into requisition to carry messages here and 
there over the earth. The Locomotive, with his mighty and 
untiring breath and iron sinews, has been chained to the 
13 



98 ABINGTON SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

car to traverse the lands with a power wliich no living crea- 
ture can equal. These, and other similar things, confer 
immense natural advantages upon men. I>ut our well-being 
certainly depends vastly more ui>on a knowledge and observ- 
ance of spiritual laws, than upon the knowledge and use of 
natural laws. Who shall discover an effectual way of cor- 
recting the spirit of selfishness ? — a way of leading men of 
business to avoid injustice, craft, cunning, in their transac- 
tions, and a way of In-inging them to be actuated in their 
trade by a truly magnanimous and neighborly spirit ? Who 
shall make a discovery that will put an effectual check upon 
the indulgence of low ambition and self-seeking in civil and 
political, and even religious affairs, and introduce into prac- 
tical operation, a generous love of the public weal, and a 
desire that the affairs of the community may be administered 
by those who have the best qualifications, and can administer 
them in the best manner ? Who shall discover an effectual 
way of placing the public good before private interest in the 
hearts of men ? Who shall discover the way of bringing 
the Golden Rule mto practical operation ? 

He who shall make these or any of these discoveries, will 
confer benefits upon mankind, with which those conferred 
by natural inventions and discoveries can bear no com- 
parison. 

In pursuance of this idea, the following sentiment is 
respectfully offered : — 

]Ma3' the succeeding fifty years be as signally marked hy the discovery 
and application of the laws upon which spiritual prosperity and happiness 
depend, as the last fifty have been by the discovery and application to 
useful purposes of natural and mechanical laws and powers ; and may it 
prove to be the distinguished felicity of this town to participate largely in 
the more excellent work of the coming period. 

Yours, very truly, Joseph Pettee. 



LETTERS. 99 

[From Ellis Ames, Esq.] 

Canton, June 9, 18G2. 

Dear Sir, — I duly received your kind invitation to attend 
your celebration of the incorporation of Abington. I have 
been for three weeks past, and now am for three weeks to 
come, severely pressed with professional engagements, and 
all entirely outside of Plymouth Court which opens to-morrow 
morning. 

If consistent with Plymouth Court, I shall endeavor to go 
up and enjoy the festival and memorials of Abington, which 
from the smallest town for man?/ years in Plymouth County, 
has finally become the greatest in population, wealth and 
enterprise, of any in the county of Plymouth. 

Yours, truly, Ellis Ames. 

Isaac Hekset, Esq. 



[From Rtv. Jacob Wliite.'] 

West Bridgewater, June 10, 18G2, 

Mr. Isaac Hersey : Dear Sir, — When I acknowledged the 
receipt of your very respectful invitation to be present at the 
celebration which is to take place in Abington to-day, my 
warm expectations and hopes were, that I should enjoy the 
privilege. But bodily indisposition, together with other 
circumstances beyond my control, prevent me from so doing. 

Accept for yourself, and be kind enough to convey to the 
Committee, my sincere thanks for the respect you have 
shown me. 

With the best wishes for a pleasant celebration, 
I remain, Dear Sir, 

Respectfully, yours, Jacob White. 



I 



J 



APPEND! 



[A.] 

The following is the Order of the General Court by which Abing- 
ton became an incoiporated town : — 

[General Court Records, vol. 9th, page^l78.] 
In Council. — Upon reading a petition of several of the inhabitants 
of the easterly part of the town of Bridgewater, and several proprie- 
tors of land adjoining, praying to be made a township, the whole of 
the said tract of land containing about six miles in length and about 
five miles and a half in breadth — bounded on the north with the line 
of the late Colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth, and upon 
the town of Scituate, south with the line that is the southerly bounds 
of the lands of John Cushing Sen'r and Jun'r Esqrs — and from 
thence on the south-westerly side by certain bounds which the town 
of Bridgewater have set uj) and prefixed to Beaver Brook — and on 
the west with the said brook until it comes to the extent of the town- 
ship of Bridgewater northward — together with a small gore of land 
lying between the said town of Bridgewater and the line of the 
aforesaid colonies. The town of Bridgewater having signified their 
consent thereto, and a plat of the said land being now presented, and 
the petitioners having set forth that they have settled a learned 
orthodox minister — 

Ordered, That the prayer of the petitioners be granted. The 
tract of land within mentioned to be erected into a town, and that 
tlie town be named Abingdon. 

Tuesday, June 10, 1712. 
Concurred by the House of Representatives. 

Consented to. J. DUDLEY. 

A true copy. E. Ames. 



102 AITHNDIX. 

.Ml-. A.MKS adds : — 

The incorporation of Abington was not by act or law upon 
parcliincnt, as Attleborough, Ilarwicli, and some other towns, incor- 
porated years before Abington, but like a few towns before and 
since, was incorporated by a joint order of both branches of the 
General Court, viz., the House and Council, approved by the 
Governor, and so was never printed witli tlie Acts and Laws of the 
Province. The proceedings in the General Court, erecting or incor- 
porating the town were always in manuscript, and so tlie same were 
liable to be written not always precisely alike. Some years ago I 
wont to the original record, and found it was incorporated by the 
name of Abingc^ort. I own a copy of the order incorporating Abing- 
ton, attested by and in the handwriting of AVoodbridge Brown him- 
self, while he Avas town clerk of Abington, and finding upon compar- 
ison that it differed a little from the copy as printed in Mr. Ilobart's 
History, I went to the General Court Record, the original record as 
di'awn up by the Secretary of the Province at the time, and found 
that it differed a little from both Brown's copy and the print in 
Ilobart's History. I send you here enclosed a true copy as I took 
it from the original record, in the hand of the Province Secretary at 
the time of its enactment. 

C-vxTOX, June C, 18G2. 



[B.] 

Since the delivery of the Address, I have received I'rom ^Ir. .loii.v 
X. NoYES, a copy of certain town records, relative to schools, which 
had escaped my notice. The substance of these records I insert 
here, as they show the people of this town deserving of more credit 
for early devotion to the interests of education than is awarded to 
them in the Address. As early as March 7, 1715 — throe years after 
the incorporation of the town — forty shillings were allowed for 
schools. In the year following, the same sum was allowed for a like 



APPENDIX. 103 

purpose. In 1717, the same sum was allowed, with the provision 
that it should be for four schools — ten shillings for each school. The 
year following, the same sum was allowed for the same number of 
schools, the division of the money to be left to the judgment of the 
selectmen. There is also a record of the sum of one pound having 
been paid to Andrew Ford for schools. Mr. Noyes suggests that 
" these schools must have been kept at private houses," and that 
probably one of them was at Mr. Ford's. It is possible that the 
schools were started by private enterprise, and that individuals were 
aided by the town appropriation. Mr. Noyes has my thanks for 
minutes from the records. 



[C] 

The following, furnished by Ellis Ames, Esq., shows the progre,-^- 
sive growth of Abington in wealth : — 

1. Upon looking at the Province tax of 1726, the tax of Abington 
was only £35 4s. 8c?., while that of Scituate, (then including Han- 
over,) was the sum of £317 Gs. Abington was theii the poorest 
town in the county of Plymouth, by all odds. There was not a 
to^^^l in the county but that was taxed considerably more than twice 
as much as Abington. 

2. Twenty-five years later, viz., in 1751, out of fourteen towns in 
Plymouth County, it was the ninth in point of means. Tlie Prov- 
ince tax for Bridgewater was the highest of any town in the 
county, viz. : £393 IGs. ; Scituate tax was £333 10s.; Abington tax 
was £114 14s. Halifax, £G8 9s., "Wareham, £70 os. 2d., Kingston, 
£82 5s., being the lowest three. 

3. In 1770, the year of the famous Resolves, the tax of Abington 
and Duxbury were alike — eight other towns being higher ; that of 
Bridgewater exceeding that of Scituate. 

4. In 1780, Abington was the eighth town in the county in valuation. 



104 APPENDIX. 

5. In 1800, Abin^on was again the eighth town in the county in 
the valuation. 

G. In 1830, it was the sixth town — five otlier towns in the 
county being higher in the vahiation. 

7. In 1851, the valuation of Plymouth, of Middleborough, and of 
Ilinghani, only exceeded it. 

8. In 18G1, the valuation of Abington by the State greatly 
exceeds that of any town in the county — and while the whole State 
taxes of Scituate, South Scituate, and Hanover, is $o,9o8, that of 
Abington is $7,578. 

Examined and compared with the documents of the times. 

Ellis Ames. 
June G, 18G2. 



At a legal town meeting held at Abington, March lH. 1770 — 

"Upon a petition of a number of the iidiabitants of said town rela- 
tive to trading with those that do import goods, or those that do trade 
with the importers, a committee was chosen to bring in Resolves, — 
viz., ]\Iessrs. Daniel Noyes, Samuel Pool, Aaron Ilobart, David 
Jones, Junr., James Herscy, Joseph Greenleaf, Esq., and IMr. 
Thomas Wilks, — which they unanimously agreed to, which the 
town voted as foUoweth as the opinion of this town. 

" Istly. That all nations of men who dwell upon the face of the whole 
earth and each individual of them, are naturally free, and while in a 
state of nature have a right to do themselves justice when their 
natural rights are invaded. 

" 2dly. Voted, as the oj)ini()ii of this town, that mankind while in 
their natural state, always had and now have a right to enter into 
compact and form societies, and erect such kind of government as 
the iiiaJDrily of them shall juilgc most for tlic pul)li(' good. 



APPENDIX. 105 

" 3dly. Voted, as the opinion of this town, that Great Britain had 
an undoubted right to erect a monarcliical government or any other 
mode of government had they thought proper, appoint a King and 
subject him to laws of their own ordaining, and always had and now 
have upon just occasion a right to alter the Royal succession. 

" 4thly. Voted, as the opinion of this town, that the right of sover- 
eignty over the inhabitants of this Province claimed by any former 
British King, or by his jiresent Majesty by succession, was derived 
to them and is derived to him by recognition of the foi'cfathers of 
this country, of his then Majesty as their sovereign, upon the plan 
of the British Constitution, who accordingly plighted his Royal faith 
that himself, his heirs and successors, had and would grant, establish, 
and ordain that all and every of his subjects which shall go to and 
inhabit this Province, and every of their children which should hap- 
pen to be born there, or on the seas in going thither, or in returning 
from thence, should have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of 
free and natural subjects, with any of their dominions, to all intents, 
constitutions and purposes whatsoever, as if they and every of them 
were born in the realm of England. 

" othly. Voted, as the opinion of this town, that the late acts of 
the Parliament of Great Britain imposing duties on American sub- 
jects for the sole purpose of raising a revenue, are an infringement 
of our Natural and Constitutional liberty, and contrary to the spirit 
and letter of the above-mentioned Royal grant, ordination and 
establishment, of having and enjoying all liberties and immunities of 
free and natural born subjects. 

" 6thly. Voted, as the opinion of this town, that no acts passed in 
either of the Parliaments of France, Spain or England, for the 
aforesaid pui^iose of raising a revenue, are bmding to us, and that 
the obedience due from us to his present Majesty in no other and 
kind or degree than such as he has a Constitutional right to from our 
fellow subjects in Great Britain. 

" 7tlily. Voted, as the opinion of this town, that therefore the above- 
mentioned acts are in themselves a mere nullity, and that he who 
14 



100 APPENDIX. 

vi et annis seizes the property of an American subject for not paying 
tlie duties imposed on him by said acts ought to be deemed no better 
than a highwayman, and should be proceeded against in due course 
of law. 

" Sthly. Voted, as the opinion of this town, that the troops (may 
they not more properly be called murderers) sent to Boston by Lord 
llillsliorougli at the request of Gov. Bernard, to aiil aixl to protect 
the commissioners of the customs in levying the taxes imposed on us 
by said acts, amount to an open declaration of war against the liber- 
ties of America, and are an unjust invasion of them ; and as we arc 
refused any legal redress of grievances, we are in this instant reduced 
to a state of nature, whereby our natural right of opposing force is 
again devolved upon us. 

'•'.tthly. Voted, as the opinion of tliis town, that the agreement of 
the merchants and traders of the town of Boston relative to non- 
importation has a natural and righteous tendency to frustrate the 
schemes of the enemies of the Constitution, and render ineffectual 
the said unconstitutional and unrighteous acts, and is a superlative 
instance of self-denial and public virtue which we hope will be 
handed down to posterity, even to the latest generation, to their 
immortal lionor. 

" lOthly. Voted, that those persons who have always persisted in 
the scheme of importation, and those also who having acceded to the 
agreement of non-importation, have violated their promises, and as it 
were stolen their own goods and sold them to purchase chains and 
fetters, ought to be by us held in the uttermost contempt, and that 
we will have no sort of commercial connection with them or with 
any that deal with them, and their names shall stand recorded in the 
town book and posted up in all ]niblic ])laces in town as enemies to 
their country. 

" llthly. Voted, that we ai'o in duty bound not to use or consume 
any article from Great Britain subject to duties on the foregoing 
plan, and that we will not knowingly purchase of any person what- 
ever any such articles until said acts an; repealed, neither will we 



APPENDIX. 107 

use or suffer willingly to be used in our families any Bohea Tea, 
cases of sickness only excepted. 

" 12tlily. Voted, that a respectful letter of thanks be addressed to 
the merchants and traders of the town of Boston, for the noble and 
disinterested and very expensive opposition made by them to the late 
attempts to enslave America, and whereas it appears probable to us 
that the goods of the infamous importers both in this and the neigh- 
boring governments are vended among us by pedlars, thei'efore, 

" ISthly. Voted, we will not purchase any thing of them or suffer 
any person under us to trade with tlicm, but that we will as much as 
in us lies discourage them and endeavor to have the laws executed 
against them, and all such Innholders as entertain them contrary to 
law. 

'• 14thly. Voted, that a committee be chosen to inquire who among 
us act contrary to the foregoing votes, and return their names to the 
town clerk to be entered in the town books and published in Messrs. 
Edes & Gill's pajjer as persons confedei'ating with the importers to 
ruin their country ; and whereas the ears of our earthly Sovereign by 
the intervention of his wicked ministers are rendered deaf to the 
cries of his oppressed American subjects, and as we apprehend we 
have a righteous cause, and as we are assured that the ears of the 
King of kings are always open to the cries of the oppressed ; there- 
fore, 

''lothly. That we will unitedly petition the throne of grace for 
protection against encroaching power, whereby our civil liberties are 
so violently attacked, and our religious liberties endangered, and that 
Thursday, the 3d day of May next, be set apart by this town for said 
purposes, that the selectmen be a committee to wait upon our Rev'd 
Pastor, desiring him to lead in the exercises of said day, and that 
by an advertisement they invite the neighboring towns to join with 
us in similar exeix'ises on said day. 

" Next, Voted that the foregoing votes be recorded, and a copy 
thereof be foi'thwith transmitted to the committee of inspection in 



108 APPENDIX. 

Boston, togctlu'i- willi our letter of thanks to the merchants anil 
traders there. 

" Recordetl per Woodbridge Brown, T(nvn Clerk. 

" Noia Bena. — Messrs. William Reed, Aaron Ilobart, and Thomas 
Blaneher, Avere chosen a committee of inspection to examme who 
traded with the importers, and make a report to the Town Clerk, 
tliat their names may be entered in tin; town l)Ooks by a vote of the 
town." 



At a legal town meeting held at Abington, January 11, 1773 — 

"The town voted to make answer to the Committee of the town 
of Boston, and chose a Committee of nine persons for that pui'pose, 
viz.: Dr. David Jones, Messrs. James Ilersey, Thomas Wilks, ]\Iicah 
Hunt, Deacon Samuel Pool, William Reed, Jr., Cajit. Daniel Noyes, 
Peleg Stetson, and vSamuel Brown. 

" The Committee brought in the following report, viz., and voted : 
Tlic iiiliabitants of the town of Abington being assembled in a 
legal town meeting, taking into consideration the many unhappy 
grievances this Province is laboring under, our rights and privileges 
being invaded and shamefully violated by many unconstitutional 
acts of arbitrary power, take this opportunity to testify our loyalty 
to our rightful sovereign, King George the Third, to whom we have 
never been wanting in duty and obedience. Whose reign is con- 
formable to the coronation oath, and is regulated by the British 
Constitution, nuist be mild and salutary, and be improved for the 
good and happiness of the people over whom he presides ; moreover 
to testify our firm attachment and our invariable adherence to all 
our natural and Constitutional rights, stipulated and made over to 
us by the Royal Charter, wliich rights and privileges as we are men, 
Clu"istians and subjects, we view ourselves as under indispensable 
obligations to use all our endeavors to u[)hold, maintain and defend. 
Furthermore, to give in our testimony against all those arbitrary 



APPENDIX. 109 

measures and despotic innovations lately taken place in this Province, 
viz. : Such as the appointment of a Board of Commissioners invested 
with such exorbitant power, to force from us our property without 
our consent, on purpose for raising a revenue ; the extension of the 
Admiralty Coui'ts beyond all rational limits ; the quartering of a 
standing army of regular troops in our metropolis, over whom our 
Governor declared he had no control, without the consent and in 
opposition to the remonstrances of the people, which has been the 
unhappy occasion of bloodshed and murder; the making our 
Governor (and as we hear the judges of the superior court and others,) 
independent of the grants of the people ; the restraining his majesty's 
council from meeting upon matters of public concern, unless called 
by the Governor, — these with many other matters of great grievance 
justly pointed out to us by our metropolis, the town of Boston, we 
clearly apprehend are a violent infraction of our natural and 
Constitutional rights, and have a direct tendency to subvert and 
overthrow our happy Constitution. Moved by these considerations, 
we have a hearty freedom to unite with our capital town, and with 
eveiy other town in the Province, in using our best endeavors by 
every just and Constitutional measure, to obtain redress, relying 
upon that God who has the heart of kings at his disposal, and 
governs all the nations of the earth in righteousness, to vouchsafe 
his blessing. Being read and considered, the town voted their 
acceptance nemine contradicente, and ordered the Committee to 
transcribe a copy and send to the Committee of Correspondence in 
Boston. After which, the town chose a Standing Committee to 
join with the Committee of Boston, and of every other town that 
is disposed to adopt the same measures. The Committee of Corres- 
pondence that was chosen was Messrs. David Jenkins, Capt. Daniel 
Noyes, Lieut. Nathaniel Pratt, Dr. David Jones, Edward Cobb, 
William Reed, Jr., and Thomas Wilks. 

"Attest, WooDBRiDGE Brown, Town Clerk." 



110 APPENDIX, 

At a legal town meeting held at Abington, January 18, 177 4 — 

" The town voted to take under consideration the Parliament act 
granting licence to the East India Company to ox[)nrt their Teas 
into America with a duty thereon. 

"Tlie town chose Dr. David Jones, Lieut. Nathaniel Pratt, Thomas 
Wilks, Capt. Daniel Noyes, David Jenkins, Edward Cobb, William 
Reed, Jr., Micah Hunt, James Hersey, Eleazer "Whitman, and 
John Ilobart, a Committee to draw up some Resolves relative to 
the said teas — 

"And the Committee reported the following Resolves, viz. : The 
Committee of Correspondence in Abington having received an address, 
together witli the votes of the town of Boston at their several meet- 
ings, rehitive to a late act of Parlianieut granting licence to the East 
India Company to export their Teas into the American Colonies, for 
sale subject to a duty to be i)aid by us (Americans) for the sole pur- 
pose of raising a revenue for the sujiport of govermnent — the 
address and votes before mentioned being presented and read to the 
town of Abington at a meeting this day hchi for that purj)Ose, after 
due consideration and debate thereon tlie inlialjitants eouie into the 
following Resolves: — 

" First. That it is the opinion of this town that the East India 
Company's Tea being sent here (or any other commodity whatso- 
ever) for sale, subject to duty to be paid by us (Americans) for the 
sole purpose of raising a revenue for the support of government, is 
a new and unconstitutional innovation, and so greatly injurious to the 
just riglits of America. 

" Second. That such measures continued and persisted in will have 
a direct tendency to alienate the affections of the Americans from 
their parent state, and will be the most likely method to dissolve 
their Union ami linally to break and destroy the British Knii)ire. 

'■'■Hard. That it is the duty of every individual in tlie community 
as a Christian, and a good and loyal subject to his King and as a 
fi'eeman, to use all lawful endeavors to oppose such measures. 



APPENDIX. Ill 

^^ Fourth. That all the contrivers, promoters and abettors of such 
schemes ought by all men to be viewed as being at heart inimical to 
their Country and treated as those who have a premeditated design 
against the national interest. 

'^^ Fifth. That it is the firm resolution of this town closely and 
strictly to adhere to their rights and privileges and as far as in their 
power lies to fnxstrate the designs of their enemies who attack them, 
and to that end Ave resolve carefully to avoid purchasing, expending 
or improving of the said East India Companj^'s Tea or any other 
commodity whatsover brought to America by any person or party 
whatsoever on such an invidious and injurious plan. 

^^ Sixth. That it is the united determination of this town as good 
and loyal subjects to yield all that obedience to rightful sovereigns 
the King wliich the Gospel requires, and as a means conducive to 
that end to stand by, maintain and ujihold the good and wholesome 
laws of the land l)y which we are governed in opposition to all these 
arbitrary tyrants, and oppressive measures lately entei'ed into which 
so shamefully eclipses the glory of the British Crown, and in a very 
awful manner destroys the peace, happiness, and tranquillity, of the 
Nation, humbly relying on the God of providence who governs all 
events in the natural and moral Avorld for safety and protection. 

" Voted, that a copy of the foi'egoing Resolves be transmitted to 
the Committee of Correspondence of the Town of Boston." 



[E.] 

Among other votes showing the military ardor of the town in the 
Revolution, the foUowmg are found on the town records : — 

In 1774. The town voted £10 to purchase ammunition and fire- 
arms for every man above sixteen years, 1 pound of powder, 20 
bullets, and 12 flints. 



112 APPENDIX. 

Jtihj 2Ath, 177G. — The town vntofl to raise a sum of money suffi- 
cient to pay each man that shall enlist into the present expedition to 
New York, the sum of £5 10«. 

July 29<A, 1776. — The town voted a bounty additional to that 
granted by Congress to procure soldiers to enlist in the present 
expedition to Canada. 

March 23c?, 1778. — Tlie town voted to provide shirts, shoes and 
stockings for forty-six soldiers. 

June 2m, 1780.— The town voted to raise "£30,000" to hire 
soldiers for six months to join General Washington. Soldiers who 
enlisted as minute men, were allowed three-quarters of a pound of 
powder each, and bullets and flints in proportion. 

Among the votes of the town at a period wliich "tried men's 
souls," there are recorded two which, though apparently less militaiy, 
may be noticed here : — 

Fehruary 11, 177G. — The to^\Ti voted to fix prices for various 
commodities, as corn, rye, beef, good men's shoes, hay, horse-keeping, 
milk, good "West India rum, good New England rum, &c. 

This was probably designed to protect articles deemed indispensa- 
ble, from reaching exorbitant prices in war time. 

June \st, 1778. — The town voted to warn out all who moved into 
this town for the future. This vote was probably designed to protect 
the town from liability to support any persons thus warned out, should 
they become a town charge. I find no record of the reconsideration 
of this vote. 



APPENDIX. 



113 



The following is a list of the soldiers of 1812 living at the time of 
the celehration. 

The list contains the names of a few persons who were not living 
in Abington in 1812, but who have since become residents of the 
town. The a";es are as near as could be ascertained. 



Daniel Aldcn. 
Ezra AUlfii. . 
Daniel Alger, 
Jonathan Arnold, . 
Thomas Blanchard, 
Samuel N. Brown, 
Daniel Burrill, 
John Curtis, . 
Joshua Curtis, 
Rufus Curtis, 
, \ Joseph Damon, 
James Dyer, . 
Daniel A. Ford, . 
Saunders Gardner, 
Jonas Gilson, 
Chandler R. Gurney, 
John C. Harden, . 
Nehemiah Hobart, 
Daniel Holbrook, . 
Richard Holbrook, 
David Humble, 
Isaiah Lane, . 
Aaron Leavitt, 
Leonard Nash, 
Benjamin Norton, 





Age. 








Age. 


. . 7-t 


Samuel Norton, ... 66 




72 


Alvah Noyes, 






63 




7G 


Benjamin Noyes, 






65 




68 


Jacob Noyes, 






67 




77 


James Noyes, 






72 




Gi 


Moses Noyes, 






71 




68 


Zil)eon Packard, 






66 




66 


Samuel Porter, 






81 




71 


Noah Pratt, . 






71 




69 


Martin Rumsdell, 






70 




70 


Abel R. Reed, 






•71 




80 


Abiah Reed, . 






70 




71 


David Reed, . 






72 




69 


Goddard Reed, 






74 




73 


Joniithan L. Reed, 






71 




70 


Brackley Shaw, 






80 




72 


Charles Shaw, 






68 




76 


Nathaniel Shaw, 






64 




75 


John Smith, . 






71 




70 


John Stetson, 






.73 




73 


Gridley Thaxter, 






78 




75 


Ammiel Thompson 


) 




70 




71 


Jesse Torrey, 






72 




71 


Sanuiel Wales, 






72 




66 


Eleazer Whiting, 






80 



15 



114 



APPENDIX. 



POPULATION. 
Till- tollowiiiL' lijiuro.-- will sliow the progress of the town in 
Po|iiilalioii for the hist eighty yenrs : — 



111 17'.iO, 


the 


l)Oj)nl;itioii ot' 


Ahiiigloii Avas . 


. 1,4.53 


1800, 






•• . . 


. 1.023 


1810, 






(k (( 


. 1,706 


1820, 






it 11 


. 1.'.I20 


1830. 






" " . . 


. 2,423 


1840, 






a u 


. 3,214 


1850, 






(k li 


. 5.269 


1860, 






it u 


. 8.527 



VALUATION. 

The following table .shows tlie Valuation of Abington, compared 
with that of the County of Plymouth and of the State, at the several 
periods mentioned : — 



YEAR. 


! 
Town. County. State. 


1840, . 
1850, . 
1860, . 


$491,876 00 
1,466,878 00 
3,279,465 00 


$10,694,719 "00 
19,200,068 00 

29,160,937 00 

■ 


$299,880,250 00 
597,936,995 46 
897,795,326 00 



ERRATA. 

On page 9, in list of Assistant-Marshals, for "Josiali Soule," read Josiah Soule, Jr. ; 
"William Pool," read William E. Pool. 
On page 33, in Kote, for " David Ilolbrook," read Zenas Holbrook. 









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